Confit potatoes

Name: Confit potatoes
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and washed; 125g of duck fat; 1 tbsp of Maldon salt, plus extra for sprinkling; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 425g of Dijon mustard; 1/2 lemon, juiced; 1/2 tsp cider vinegar; 375ml of vegetable oil

by The Quality Chop House

Item 1 of 1

Side
easy
6
3 hours 20 minutes

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

5.00

Just when you thought potatoes had been cooked in every way possible, along comes this legendary side dish from The Quality Chop House. Thinly sliced potatoes are confit in duck fat before being pressed overnight and deep-fried until crisp. The shattering crunch and almost creamy centre make these better than any chips or roast potatoes you've had before.

This recipe is taken from The Quality Chop House: Modern Recipes and Stories from a London Classic by William Lander, Daniel Morgenthau & Shaun Searley (Quadrille, £30). Photography by Andrew Montgomery.

First published in 2019

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Our confit potatoes have become rather legendary. They are the only dish we haven’t once taken off the menu since their happy conception in spring 2013. We’d just opened the restaurant and needed to find something to serve with the chops. Shaun was adamant that QCH didn’t need chips – next thing you know we’d have squeezy ketchup on the tables – but we obviously needed something indulgent, and probably potato-based. We started making layered potatoes and after much trial and error and refrying leftovers, Shaun landed on these crispy golden nuggets.

What with the slicing, layering and overnight chilling, these are something of a labour of love – but they’re worth it. Do use Maris Pipers: they have the perfect sugar-starch-water content to prevent collapse while cooking.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

1kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and washed
125g of duck fat
1 tbsp of Maldon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Mustard dressing

425g of Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
375ml of vegetable oil

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Equipment

Terrine mould
Mandoline

Method

Preheat an oven to 120°C/gas mark ½ and line a 1.7l terrine mould with baking paper

Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes as thinly as possible, then toss the slices with the duck fat and tablespoon of salt in a large bowl

Layer the potatoes in the mould, one slice at a time, until you’ve built up multiple tiers. Once you’ve used up all the potatoes, cover the top with baking parchment and cook for about 3 hours until the potatoes are completely tender

Place a small baking tray or plate on top of the baking paper covering the potatoes, along with a few heavy weights (tins work well) and leave to cool, then refrigerate overnight to compress

The next day, remove the weights and tray and cut the potatoes into 3x3cm pieces

To make the mustard dressing, mix the mustard, lemon juice and vinegar in a large bowl, then whisk in the vegetable oil until emulsified. Store in squeezy bottles in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. This will make more dressing than you need for these potatoes, but it will keep for a few days and can be served with all sorts of other dishes

Preheat a deep pan of oil or deep-fat fryer to 190°C

Fry the sliced pieces of potato in the oil for around 4 minutes until croissant-gold (you may need to work in batches). Sprinkle over some Maldon salt, drizzle with the mustard dressing and eat immediately

First published in 2019

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The Quality Chop House

The Quality Chop House is a restaurant in London, specialising in modern, innovative cooking that makes the most of British produce.

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