Buttery chateau potatoes

I’ve got a bit of a retro recipe for you today – buttery chateau potatoes! Chateau potatoes are a pretty old recipe from the 20th century, so not something you see too often these days, but I thought they deserved a resurgence! Garlicky melted butter, crispy potatoes, and fresh herbs: What’s not to love?

What are chateau potatoes?

Chateau potatoes are a simple buttery potato dish, and they were popular back in the 1900s.

The recipe is actually really simple to make, but they were always thought of as a bit fancy. They were served in First Class on the Titanic, apparently, as well as other posh cruise ships – the sort of trip where you’d get your glad rags on for dinner each night!

I can just imagine someone taking a long boat journey across the Atlantic, wearing a beautiful dress, and sitting down to a special meal including these chateau potatoes. They’re easy and cheap to make, but they still feel a bit special.

And even though chateau potatoes are a pretty retro dish these days, they’re just as tasty as ever.

How to make chateau potatoes

Chateau potatoes are very straightforward – it doesn’t take much to make a potato worth eating.

First, little new potatoes are braised in oodles of melted garlic butter, until they’re just starting to crisp up.

Then, they’re popped in the oven to roast. The golden brown crust that forms is unbelievable, infused with that garlic butter flavour. The middles are soft and fluffy.

All you need is a sprinkling of fresh herbs on top to finish it off beautifully.

Oh, and don’t forget to drizzle over any excess melted butter… wouldn’t want it to go to waste.

How to serve chateau potatoes

I don’t often share side dish recipes on this blog (mostly because I tend to stick to the same few side dishes over and over again at home), but these buttery chateau potatoes have reminded me that there’s so much more you can do with simple veggie sides!

These chateau potatoes would be a perfect slightly-posh-and-fancy alternative to roast potatoes to liven up your Sunday lunch (or even your Christmas dinner!).

Or, if you’d prefer a lower effort dinner, just serve them with a slice of quiche and a handful of salad. It’s one of my favourite kinds of dinner.

Leftover potatoes don’t exist in my house, and this day was no exception – it’s hard to resist potatoes that are soft and fluffy in the middle, with a crispy, buttery crust.

From now on I’ll definitely be channelling my inner cruise-goer and trying to be a bit more inventive with my side dishes!

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Buttery chateau potatoes

These buttery chateau potatoes are an incredible alternative to roast potatoes, drenched in a garlic butter sauce.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 3 people

Calories: 273kcal

Author: Becca Heyes

Ingredients

• 700 g new potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
• Peel the new potatoes, and pat them dry on kitchen paper.
• Add them to an oven-proof frying pan, along with the whole garlic cloves, butter and olive oil (if you don’t have an oven-proof frying pan, just transfer them to a baking dish before placing in the oven). Allow the butter to melt over a medium heat, and toss regularly to coat the potatoes in the buttery mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper, and continue to cook until the potatoes are just starting to turn golden. As the butter cooks, you may see dark flecks appearing – this only adds to the flavour.
• When the potatoes are starting to turn golden, place the pan in the oven, and roast for around 30-35 minutes, until the potatoes are soft in the middle, with crispy brown exteriors. Discard the roasted garlic, and serve the chateau potatoes drizzled with any excess garlic butter, scattered with fresh parsley.

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/3 of the recipe.

Got any new potatoes left over? Try my mint and pistachio pesto potato salad – perfect for summer picnics!