Potatoes and aioli—a match made in heaven. You could stop right there and have yourself a real nice time. Orrrr, you could throw a bunch of fried herbs, capers, and cornichons into the mix and have an unforgettable one. Frying woody herbs tones down their bitterness and intensity, leaving behind pure herbaceous flavor, so you can use a lot of them without overwhelming your palate. If watching sports is your thing or whatever, add these to your next gameday lineup. They’ll dominate, I promise.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘More is More' by Molly Baz. Buy the full book on Amazon.
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What you’ll need
Cornichons
$14 At Amazon
Capers
$18 At Amazon
Vegetable Oil
$5 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Preparation
Bake the potatoes
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Step 2
Rinse and scrub 4 large russet potatoes. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake until tender when pierced with a toothpick, about 1½ hours. Let sit until they are cool enoughto handle. Keep the oven on.
Meanwhile, start the aioli
Step 3
Finely chop 8 cornichons and the leaves from 1 bunch of parsley. Grate 1 garlic clove. Add all to a small bowl.
Step 4
Stir in ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons drained capers, and a big splash of cornichon brine. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
Roast the skins
Step 5
Cut the baked potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh into a large bowl, leaving a ¼-inch-thick layer attached to the skin. Reserve the scooped potato flesh for another use. Rip the potato skins into ragged 2- to 3-inch pieces. Season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Step 6
In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup neutral oil over medium-high heat. Add one piece of potato skin to the skillet. When it begins to sizzle vigorously, add the remaining pieces, turning to coat, and position them flesh-side down. Remove from the heat.
Step 7
Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the potato skins until deeply golden on the undersides, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip and roast until nearly golden all over, about 10 minutes longer.
Step 8
Using tongs or a slotted fish spatula, remove the potato skins from the skillet, leaving the oil behind, and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F and transfer to the oven to keep the skins warm.
Fry the herbs
Step 9
Line a plate with paper towels.
Step 10
Transfer the skillet with the oil back to the stovetop and place over medium-high heat.
Step 11
Working in batches to avoid crowding the skillet, add the 24 sprigs of mixed hardy herbs (keep them on their stems) and fry until very lightly golden in spots, about 30 seconds. Transfer the herbs to the paper towel-lined plate and season with kosher salt.
Serve
Step 12
Strip the fried herb leaves off any stalks that are thick or tough and discard the stalks. Finely chop two-thirds of the herbs and add to the mayonnaise mixture.
Step 13
Plate up the potato skins with the aioli and garnish with the remaining fried herbs and flaky sea salt. Serve hotttt.
Recipe notes
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