Pan-Fried Roasted Potatoes (French Pommes de Terre Château)

You may be familiar with châteaubriand, a dish made of the tenderloin cut of beef that originated in France. It is said to be named after François-René de Châteaubriand, a diplomat serving as an ambassador to Napoléon Bonaparte, and created by his chef, Montmireil. The details of the exact recipe, however - whether it was a tenderloin or a sirloin; was it served with a béarnaise or similar sauce - as well as the cooking technique (charred on the outside?) differ depending on where you get the information. What is consistent throughout, though, is that a châteaubriand was always served with château potatoes. Crispy around the edges and buttery rich, this château potatoes recipe is fantastic with any roasted meat or poultry dish. Traditionally cut into ovals, château potatoes taste just as delicious cut into slices and sautéed in butter and seasoned with parsley.

8 Tbsp. butter
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into small ovals
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
¾ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, Gas Mark 6).

Melt the butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the sliced potatoes in the butter for 5 minutes. Place the skillet into the oven and roast the potatoes, stirring often, for 20 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven and sprinkle the chopped parsley, salt, and pepper over the browned potatoes.

Serve immediately.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Variations:
To save yourself some time, you can use smaller new potatoes or even fingerlings, and keep them whole instead of cutting into ovals. To recreate the same texture and flavour, you should still peel the potatoes before cooking. And whether you are using larger cut potatoes or smaller whole potatoes, you should pat them with a towel after peeling to absorb any moisture. The potatoes will crisp up better if their surface is nice and dry.

For a little extra flavour, you can add garlic to this recipe. Peel but keep the cloves whole, and place in the pan with the potatoes and butter. Discard the garlic after removing the pan from the oven - you will be left with a delicious garlic butter sauce to spoon over the potatoes.