Gremolata'd New Potatoes

Transforming the Mundane Into the Illustrious

OK, so maybe this delicious number is not quite the genuine article. We veer off a little here, this being my updated take on renowned old gremolata. Classic gremolata, the green sauce made from chopped parsley, lemon zest and garlic, is of course the standard accompaniment to ossobuco alla Milanese. Or Milanese Braised Veal Shank for those of us with less distinguished origins.

Granted, new potatoes, a.k.a. baby potatoes, are not quite the same as veal. Yet, if we add a dash of graft and a tad of insight, the end result will – as with veal – surprise and delight.

Baby potatoes, or new potatoes (depending on where you’re from), are basically a blank canvas on which the culinary artist can live out his or her wildest imaginations without fear of flavour interference from the substrate. Battery chickens are rather similar in this role of being an almost blank canvas.

In our recipe presented here we enliven gremolata a notch or two by adding rosemary and the acidity of reduced lemon juice. Said acidity’s primary function is to dial the butter’s fattiness down a notch or so, while the lemon flavour helps to accentuate the tastes of the other flavour elements.

Serve the gremolata’d new potatoes with roasted chicken, pulled pork or a firm white fish, grilled or pan-fried. They are also very good by themselves or as one of the mains starches of a vegetarian meal.

As a pedantic aside: All baby potatoes are new potatoes, but not all new potatoes seem to be baby potatoes. Regional variations in terminology exist, as is briefly explored here.

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GREMOLATA’d NEW POTATOES

– PRINT RECIPE –

Recipe yields:

2 Portions

Preparation time:

± 15 Minutes

Cooking time:

± 45 Minutes

Special Equipment Required:

1 x Medium sized sauté pan with lid.

Ingredients:

New potatoes, washed (and halved if largish)	± 500g – 600g
Salt	15ml
Cold water	To cover

Butter, salted	30ml
Lemon juice, fresh	30ml
Fresh parsley, finely chopped	15ml
Garlic, finely diced	5.0ml
Lemon zest, finely grated	5.0ml
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped	5.0ml
Bay leaf powder	± ½ ml

Salt	± 1.5ml
Freshly ground black pepper	To taste

Method:

Combine the potatoes, salt and water in the sauté pan. Heat over medium high heat until the contents start to boil. Turn the heat down until the potatoes simmer gently. Simmer until just done, ± 12 – 15 minutes. Use a small, sharp pointed utility knife or metal skewer to regularly test for doneness.
Drain the potatoes and return them to the pan. Keep warm over low heat to allow the cooked potatoes to dry out thoroughly.
When dried, remove the potatoes from the pan and set aside until needed.
Add the butter to the same pan and place over medium heat until the butter is molten and starts to foam. Return the cooked potatoes to the pan, turn the heat down to medium low and sauté, uncovered, until well browned and quite soft, approx. 20 minutes. Stir frequently.
Remove the potatoes from the pan and return the used pan as is to the heat. Add the lemon juice and ‘deglaze’ the pan with a coiled wire whisk. Work fast as most of the juice will evaporate quickly.
Return the potatoes to the pan when almost all the lemon juice has disappeared from the pan. Shake the pan vigorously to cover the potatoes in the butter and lemon reduction. Add all the other ingredients except the salt and pepper.
Sauté over medium low heat until the potatoes as fragrant and the garlic starts to crisp up, approx. 5 – 6 minutes.
Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Serve immediately.

– RECIPE INDEX PAGE –

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