Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
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Pommes de Terre à l’Anglaise
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2202, Pommes de Terre à l’Anglaise, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Turn potatoes into generous garlic-clove shapes, then cook them with such restraint that every piece stays whole, tender, and plainly itself, ready for the quiet work of accompanying poached fish.
Side Dishes
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
25 min
Active Time
20 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Pommes de terre à l’anglaise (potatoes in the English manner) teaches restraint through precision. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: every turned piece must have roughly the same thickness, or the narrow ones crumble while the broad ones remain firm. Plain is not unfinished here. Plain is the point.
There is no saucier, stockpot, or salamander behind this recipe, because no sauce, stock, or browning belongs in it. The original kitchen did assume a commis turning whole trays of potatoes with a dedicated knife. At home, twelve small potatoes and an ordinary paring knife do the work. The brigade quantity and perfect banquet uniformity are scaffolding and can go; the generous garlic-clove shape and gentle cooking are the dish, and they must stay.
The finished potatoes should be pale ivory, smooth-sided, and tender through the centre, with enough structure to reach the platter intact. No butter glaze, no parsley, no last-minute decoration. The decisive moment comes when the water first boils: lower the heat immediately, because a bare simmer cooks the centre while preserving the carefully turned surface.
Pommes de terre à l’anglaise belongs not to one French region but to the national classical service table, where it sits especially beside boiled or poached fish. The designation à l’anglaise records the French kitchen’s idea of English plainness: potatoes carefully turned, then boiled or cooked by vapeur, with no sauce or garnish to compete with the fish. The source’s pointed distinction, that French cooks salt the cooking water while the English method omits salt, shows that the name describes a style seen through French eyes rather than a single British household recipe.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small waxy yellow potatoes
Quantity
12 small (about 1¾ lb / 800 g)
similar in size
cold water
Quantity
8½ cups (2 L / 2 kg), or enough to cover by 1 inch / 2.5 cm
fine sea salt
Quantity
3½ level teaspoons (17 ml / 20 g)
omit only for the salt-free English method noted in the source
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small waxy yellow potatoessimilar in size | 12 small (about 1¾ lb / 800 g) |
| cold water | 8½ cups (2 L / 2 kg), or enough to cover by 1 inch / 2.5 cm |
| fine sea saltomit only for the salt-free English method noted in the source | 3½ level teaspoons (17 ml / 20 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Small sharp paring knife with a 3 to 4 inch / 8 to 10 cm blade
- •3-quart / 3-liter saucepan
- •Slotted spoon
Instructions
- 1
Turn the potatoes
Peel the potatoes and trim a thin slice from each end, leaving one end slightly fuller than the other. Set each potato securely on the board and make six or seven shallow, curving lengthwise cuts, rotating it after every cut and always cutting away from your fingers. Aim for a smooth garlic-clove shape about 2 to 2¼ inches / 5 to 5.5 cm long, with a broad base, a gently tapered point, and an even thickness through the middle. Place each finished piece in cool water while you work. If one becomes noticeably smaller, stop cutting; add that piece to the cooking pan two or three minutes after the others rather than whittling the whole batch down to match it. Ça se rattrape.
Uniform thickness matters more than identical facets. You are controlling the cooking time, not producing twelve pieces for inspection. - 2
Set the salted water
Drain and rinse the turned potatoes to remove the loose starch and tiny fragments left by the knife. Arrange them in a single layer in a 3-quart / 3-liter saucepan, add enough of the measured cold water to cover them by 1 inch / 2.5 cm, and hold back any remainder. Add the salt and stir gently to dissolve it. For the salt-free English method recorded in the source, omit the salt and change nothing else.
- 3
Simmer without violence
Set the uncovered pan over medium heat and bring the water just to a boil. The moment full bubbles appear, lower the heat and maintain the barest simmer, with only a lazy movement across the surface. Cook for 10 to 14 minutes from that point, testing early if the potatoes are small. A hard boil knocks the turned edges against one another and makes them feather. If the pan runs away from you, lift it off the heat, add a splash of the reserved cold water, and return it over the lowest heat once the bubbling settles. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Test and dry
Pierce the thickest part of a potato with the point of the paring knife. It should enter cleanly to the centre without a hard, crunchy core, while the potato remains whole when lifted. Remove each piece with a slotted spoon as it becomes tender rather than making the entire pan wait for one stubborn potato. Empty the saucepan, return the drained potatoes to it, and roll them once over the lowest heat for 20 to 30 seconds. This removes clinging water without browning or roughening their surfaces.
- 5
Serve them plain
Transfer the potatoes gently to a warmed serving platter and bring them straight to the table beside boiled or poached fish. Leave them unglazed and ungarnished. Butter, herbs, and pepper can make excellent potatoes, but they make another preparation; the quiet, clean taste of the potato is what à l’anglaise contributes here. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose Charlotte, Nicola, or small Yukon Gold potatoes with smooth skins and waxy flesh. Floury russets tend to split and feather in the water, however carefully you simmer them.
- •Keep every turning scrap. Cover the pieces with cold water, refrigerate them for no more than a day, and use them in soup, purée, or a potato cake. The turned shape is essential to this preparation; wasting the trimmings is not.
- •The source also permits cuisson à la vapeur (steam cooking). Arrange the turned potatoes in one layer over briskly boiling water, cover, and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, testing through the thickest point. This naturally gives the salt-free English rendering unless the potatoes are seasoned afterward.
- •Serve these with a gently cooked fish whose liquor or accompanying sauce provides the richness. The potato should receive that sauce on the plate, not arrive wearing a competing one.
Advance Preparation
- •The potatoes may be peeled and turned up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them completely submerged in cold water in the refrigerator, then drain and rinse before cooking.
- •Cook them during the final 20 minutes before serving. Holding them in hot water makes their surfaces waterlogged, while chilling and reheating dulls the deliberately clean texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
130 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
360 mg
Total Carbohydrates
30 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
3 g
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