Chef Juliette
Stuffed Onions
Oignons farcis teach the discipline of the shell: mild onions hollowed without weakness, filled with their own flesh and Duxelle, braised in butter and stock, then glazed until the tops bronze.
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Pommes de Terre Parisienne
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2237, Pommes de Terre Parisienne, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Pommes de Terre Parisienne turn disciplined shaping into pleasure: tiny butter-bronzed potato balls rolled in fluid meat glaze, brightened with parsley, and served while every surface still gleams.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
30 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield4 side-dish servings
Pommes de Terre Parisienne (small glazed potato balls) teach one exact lesson: the glace de viande must be melted and fluid before it touches the potatoes. Thick glaze clings in dark patches; flowing glaze rolls around each smaller-than-noisette sphere and leaves it lacquered, not burdened.
The source entry assumes a tray of noisette-cut potatoes already underway, a saucier with meat glaze at hand, and a stockpot never off the fire. At home, use the small end of a melon baller and three spoonfuls of properly reduced glace de viande. A brigade's bulk shaping and separate sauce station are scaffolding, so they go; the small even cut, clarified-butter cooking, and final roll in glaze are the dish, so they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Use large potatoes, because broad, unblemished flesh gives the scoop room to turn, and save the trimmings for a potage. Cook the balls until tender and bronze before the glaze enters, then keep that glaze loose and the parsley green. The step that decides the dish is the final rolling: fluid glaze, gentle heat, constant motion.
Pommes de Terre Parisienne belong to the codified garnish work of Paris, where a potato preparation is defined by its shape, cooking, and finish rather than by a romantic regional story. This entry distinguishes them from the noisette family by making the balls smaller and rolling them after cooking in glace de viande with parsley, so the name marks a precise service garnish rather than a potato variety. The preparation traveled from grand kitchens into the cuisine bourgeoise dinner table, where it remains especially suited to roasted beef, veal, and game.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large floury or all-purpose potatoes
Quantity
4 large, about 2 lb (900 g)
unsalted butter
Quantity
5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g), yielding about 4 tablespoons clarified butter (60 ml / 56 g), or 4 tablespoons prepared clarified butter (60 ml / 56 g)
clarified, unless already prepared
glace de viande
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 50 g)
preferably unsalted
hot water (optional)
Quantity
Up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g)
finely chopped
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g), divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large floury or all-purpose potatoes | 4 large, about 2 lb (900 g) |
| unsalted butterclarified, unless already prepared | 5 tablespoons (75 ml / 71 g), yielding about 4 tablespoons clarified butter (60 ml / 56 g), or 4 tablespoons prepared clarified butter (60 ml / 56 g) |
| glace de viandepreferably unsalted | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 50 g) |
| hot water (optional) | Up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 8 g) |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g), divided |
Equipment Needed
- •3/4-inch (19 mm) Parisienne scoop or melon baller
- •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet with lid
- •Small heavy-bottomed saucepan
Instructions
- 1
Clarify the butter
If you're starting with whole butter, melt it over the lowest heat without stirring. Skim away the white foam, then pour or spoon the clear golden fat into a small bowl, leaving the milky sediment behind; you need about 4 tablespoons (60 ml). Clarified butter keeps its clean flavor while the potatoes cook long enough to become tender and bronze. If you're using prepared clarified butter, warm it just until liquid.
- 2
Cut the Parisienne balls
Peel and rinse the potatoes. Press a 3/4-inch (19 mm) Parisienne scoop or melon baller deeply into a broad face of each potato, then turn it through a complete circle to release a neat ball. Keep the balls in cold water as you work and reserve the trimmings for soup or mash; only the brigade needed to pretend those useful scraps didn't exist. You should finish with about 1 lb (450 to 500 g) of balls. Rinse them once, drain thoroughly, and dry them between clean towels. A wet surface spatters and refuses to bronze.
- 3
Cook to bronze
Warm the clarified butter in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the dry potato balls in one uncrowded layer, season with half the salt, and roll them through the butter. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, shaking the pan every minute, until pale gold appears across several sides. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover loosely, and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking often so the balls color evenly. Uncover for the final few minutes and cook until deeply butter-gold and tender at the center when pierced with a fine knife. If they brown before they soften, lower the heat immediately, cover for 3 to 5 minutes, and keep them moving; once tender, uncover briefly to dry the surface again.
Use two batches if the balls cannot sit in one layer. Crowding gives uneven color, and the glaze cannot disguise a pale potato. - 4
Melt the glaze
While the potatoes finish cooking, place the glace de viande in a small saucepan over the gentlest heat. Stir until it is completely melted and falls from the spoon in a thin, glossy ribbon. Do not boil or reduce it. The glaze must be fluid, never thick; if it remains tacky, stir in hot water 1 teaspoon at a time until it flows readily but still tastes concentrated.
- 5
Roll and finish
Drain away any excess clarified butter, leaving the potatoes in the warm skillet over the lowest heat. Pour in the fluid glace de viande and roll the balls constantly for 30 to 60 seconds, just until every one carries a thin, even lacquer. If the glaze tightens or gathers in sticky patches, pull the pan off the heat and add another teaspoon of hot water while rolling. Ça se rattrape. Remove the pan from the heat, scatter over the parsley, and roll once more so the green stays fresh. Taste before adding the remaining salt, transfer to a warm serving dish, and serve at once. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose large, regular potatoes without green patches or deep eyes. This is a shaped garnish, and broad clean flesh gives you more complete balls with less wrestling at the cutting board.
- •A true glace de viande sets firmly when cold and melts into a concentrated, flowing glaze. Use homemade glaze kept in the freezer or a good unsalted prepared version; gravy, bouillon paste, and sweet bottled glazes do not have the same foundation.
- •A 3/4-inch (19 mm) scoop keeps the Parisienne balls smaller than ordinary noisettes while leaving enough potato inside to stay creamy. Press deeply and turn once with conviction; repeated scraping produces ragged edges.
- •Serve these beside roast beef, a veal chop, duck, or game, where the meat glaze joins the juices already on the plate. They are too forceful for a delicate fish, and there is no reason to make them pretend otherwise.
Advance Preparation
- •Cut the potato balls up to 4 hours ahead and keep them fully submerged in cold water. Drain and dry them meticulously just before cooking.
- •Clarified butter and glace de viande can be prepared several days ahead and refrigerated separately. Glace de viande also freezes well in tablespoon portions, ready for precisely this sort of finish.
- •The finished potatoes are best served immediately. For a dinner party, complete the shaping and prepare the glaze ahead, then cook and lacquer the balls while the roast rests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
260 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
5 g
Cholesterol
40 mg
Sodium
610 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
5 g
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