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Aunt Vera's Fantailed Roast Potatoes (Tatws Popty)!

Aunt Vera’s Fantail Roast Potatoes (Tatws Popty)

By

Ken Thorne, Food Editor, Ninnau

This recipe was a favorite of my Aunt Vera. Our two homes in Skewen, South Wales were only about a fifteen minute walk apart. I always looked forward to a visit to Aunt Vera’s – her cooking had a lot to do with it! She was a wonderful cook; she created wonders out of basic inexpensive ingredients. This recipe is a re-creation from the occasions when, at eight to ten years old, I was put in charge of the potatoes since there was a new arrival, Leonard. On a recent trip to Wales, Leonard, his wife, Nancy and I refined the recipe. We lightened the recipe and added a little garlic for today’s taste although Aunt Vera probably would have added some fresh garden herbs such as thyme, mint or parsley. For a real taste of Wales, add chopped leek at the end for more depth of flavor and color. This dish is riveted in my memory; a classic we would now call comfort food. The nicest part is - it is so easy to prepare!

These fantail potatoes were served at the 2002 St. David’s Day Dinner in Cleveland, Ohio. They were a hit! Try them, you will be delighted!

Recipe  

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6                      Yukon Gold Potatoes, med large peeled

1 stick               butter, fresh unsalted, 1/3 cut into 6 slices and 2/3 reserved for melting

1 tsp                 garlic, crushed (optional)

1 cup                chicken stock

Water, sufficient to level off at half way up the potatoes

1 tbsp               kosher salt

1 sm                 leek, cleaned and chopped in 1/8 inch rings

Directions:

            Preheat oven to 425 F. Put potatoes in a saucepan of cold water. Bring the potatoes to the boil, boil for 2 minutes. Cool the potatoes by immersing in cold running water. Cut each potato in half crossways and make all a fairly uniform size. Put potatoes flat side down and cut through the dome top vertically about two thirds down and 1/8 to 1/4 inch apart on each one.

Pour into a roasting dish 1 cup of the chicken stock and season if needed. Place the potatoes in the roasting dish in rows with cut side down. Adjust liquid level with water, stopping when it reaches about half way up the sides of the potatoes. Add the kosher salt and stir gently to dissolve. Mix garlic with melted butter then baste the tops of the potatoes, reserving the reminder of the mix for further bastings. Place the roasting dish in the oven for 1 ½ hrs, basting with the butter from time to time. Monitor level of water in the dish and carefully add more as needed. When done the potatoes should be succulent moist with crusty golden brown tops. Add the chopped leek for the last five minutes of cooking. If necessary, turn the heat up to 450 F for 5 to 10 minutes to finish browning and crisping the potatoes. When plating spoon some of the broth over the top the potatoes allowing it to penetrate into the fantails!

Prep. Time: 15 minutes.

Cooking Time: 1 ¾ hrs.

Note: A small variation on the recipe is to use a melon baller to scoop out a part of the top of the potato after finishing the fantailing procedure. This creates a volcano look. When you baste, some of the liquid will seep down into the middle of the potato giving you extra dimensions of flavor!

Mwynhewch Eich Tatws Popty – Enjoy Your Roast Potatoes!