If you are cooking for somebody special on date night, these gorgeous crispy potato balls would be an excellent choice. They are essentially a round butter-flavored French fry. You will need a Parisian scoop (melon baller) to make this recipe. Serve with a nice bistro steak.
Prep Time::10 mins
Cook Time::20 mins
Cool Time::30 mins
Total Time:: 1 hr
Servings::2
Ingredients
2 large russet potatoes, peeled
4 cups water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons clarified butter
Directions
Gather all ingredients.
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Scoop out as many potato balls as you can per potato using the smaller end of a Parisian scooper, 8 or 9 balls per large potato. You can't get too many out of each potato. If you want perfectly shaped balls, don't scoop too close together.
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Drop potato balls into a large bowl of cold fresh water so they don't discolor. Use potato carcasses for another use, e.g. potato pancakes.
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Add potato balls, water, and kosher salt to a large pot. Stir and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once water is boiling, boil for just 2 minutes. Potatoes should still be firm, but not raw.
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Turn off heat and remove potato balls with a strainer. Allow to drain in one layer on a plate lined with paper towels. Cool until they are room temperature.
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Heat clarified butter in a skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Carefully add completely dry and cooled potatoes to butter. Brown potatoes until outsides are golden and crispy, and the insides are tender and fluffy, 7 to 10 minutes. Move and stir potatoes often so they brown evenly .
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Remove from heat and serve immediately.
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Recipe Tips
You can use 1 tablespoon of regular salt instead of kosher salt.
Parboiling the potatoes in well-salted water makes for a nicely seasoned Parisian potato, but the potatoes can be cooked in plain water and seasoned with salt at the end if so desired.
Potatoes must be dry and fully cooled before browning in butter. They can be made ahead and refrigerated.
To make clarified butter (the pure butter "oil"), melt unsalted butter, then skim off any and all of the white milky foam from the top. Spoon the pure golden butter into another ramekin, being careful not to include any liquid at the bottom.