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Lyonnaise Potatoes
2 cups boiled potatoes, diced 1 tablespoon minced onion 2 tablespoons drippings 1 tablespoon chopped parsley The potatoes should be rather underdone to produce the best results. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the onion in fat until yellow, add the diced potato and stir with a fork until all sides are brown, being careful not to break the potatoes. Add more fat if necessary. When done, turn the potatoes out upon a hot dish, sprinkle parsley over the top, and serve hot.
A compact fried-potato recipe that depends almost entirely on the state of the boiled potatoes going into the pan.
- Underdone potatoes are the hingeBoil the potatoes until a knife meets slight resistance at the center, then cool them fully before dicing. Fully soft potatoes collapse into mash the moment you stir them, which is exactly what the note about "rather underdone" is guarding against.
- DrippingsBacon or beef drippings were a common household frying fat in this period. Any fat with a decent smoke point works; butter alone will brown too fast, so use half butter and half oil if you want the flavor.
- Pan and heatUse a heavy skillet, at least 10 inches for this quantity, over medium-high heat. A crowded or thin pan steams the potatoes instead of crusting them.
- Onion timingOne tablespoon of onion in two tablespoons of fat cooks to yellow in two or three minutes. If it starts to brown before the potatoes go in it will scorch by the time they are crisp, so pull it to the side of the pan or lower the heat.
- "Stir with a fork"The fork is deliberate: a spoon or spatula crushes the cubes. Better still, leave the potatoes undisturbed for two or three minutes at a time and turn them in sections rather than stirring continuously. Figure 10 to 15 minutes total for a real crust.
- YieldTwo cups of diced potato serves two, or three as a side alongside eggs or a chop.