Chateau Potatoes

Chateau potatoes are the traditional accompaniment to a chateaubriand steak but they are delicious with all main courses!

I've used small potatoes to make this recipe easy to prepare, so that you can have buttery and garlic braised potatoes in 40 minutes.

Perfect for entertaining, as all the preparation can be done in advance.

Bon appétit!   

This potato dish was originally called chateaubriand potatoes. They were traditionally always served with a chateaubriand steak, making a rather special meal.

In some restaurants these potatoes are cut into a tournée shape, which is basically into a long, eight faceted oval shape. Potatoes cocotte are basically the same but cut even smaller!

I have also heard that chateau potatoes were a side dish on the Titanic, where they were cut into slices with eight sides to create a jewel effect.

With both of these methods, the potatoes look pretty, but it can be a waste of potatoes and take a long time. Instead, I have peeled potatoes of the same size to get the uniform effect. The easiest way to get potatoes the same size is to use new potatoes.

Of course, you can cut them like this if you want to. This would be lovely for a special meal for two and any leftover potato from shaping can be cooked and used to make cheese and onion potato cakes.

And, I know there is a lot of butter in this recipe, but it is for special occasions. Feel free to reduce the amount if you prefer.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking time
• 🥗 Serve with
• Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• Storage
• FAQs
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

• Potatoes - small new or baby potatoes that are not floury, so that they stand up to stirring and turning in the pan.
• Butter - this recipe is all about the butter, so no substitutes for flavour.
• Oil - a little plain olive oil, vegetable or sunflower oil to stop the butter from burning too much.
• Salt - if you are using salted butter then adjust to taste. Preferably use flaked sea salt.
• Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
• Parsley - fresh chopped flatleaf parsley.
• Garlic - fresh garlic cloves.

See recipe card for quantities.

🍽 Equipment

• Large oven proof pan/skillet or pan and oven dish

🔪 Instructions

💭 Top tip

• Normally, I wouldn't peel baby or new potatoes but in this recipe the potatoes are roasted, so they will get a crispier outside from peeling. To save time, if you are feeding a crowd, just wash the potatoes and dry them well so that the butter can crisp up the skin.

Lay the potatoes on kitchen paper to dry off the excess water.

Add the butter, oil, peeled whole garlic cloves, seasoning and potatoes to a heavy based pan that can go from the hob to the oven.

Cook over a medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, lightly stirring from time to time, until they are lightly golden all over.

⏲️ Baking time

Preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F/170 FAN/Gas 5 and place the potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes or until crisp and tender.

Remove the garlic from the dish.

Put them in a serving dish and pour over the butter from the pan.

Scatter over the parsley and serve.

🥗 Serve with

These potatoes are perfect for a special occasion.

Why not try one of these dishes?

• Roast rack of pork
• Cannon of lamb
• Chicken supreme
• Duck confit
• Coq au vin

Substitutions

• Potatoes - if you want to use larger potatoes, and cut them in the tournée shape, it would be best to use a more waxy potato like Charlotte or Maris peer as they will keep their shape better when cooking.

📖 Variations

• Vegetables - try cooking vegetables this way too. Try a selection of carrots, swede, potatoes, parsnips, turnips or celeriac. Cut them to a similar size so they are cooked at the same rate.
• Spicy - try some different flavourings before they go in the oven. Use 2 teaspoons of a combination of turmeric, cumin, chilli powder and coriander.

Storage

• Refrigerator - these will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator.
• Freezer - keep for up to a year.
• To reheat - defrost then reheat in a the oven for 10 - 20 minutes with a tablespoon of butter.

FAQs

More potato dishes

• Cheesy Duchess Potatoes
• Gratin Potatoes Dauphinoise
• Tartiflette
• Potatoes Boulangère
• Potatoes Pavé
• Fondant Potatoes
• Tarragon Potato Salad
• Parmentier Potatoes

More French side dishes

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.