Potatoes Cooked in Goose Dripping (Pommes de terresalardaises)

Potatoes cooked in confit-fat is a winter recipe from the Périgord, the land of the fattened goose.  When served with a grilled magret de canard  or d'oie - grilled duck or goose-breast - it's the defining dish of the region. You can buy goosefat in a tin (a cheaper option than buying the whole confit).  Or save the drippings when roasting your Christmas goose or Sunday duck - if you roast the bird on a rack set over a roasting tin with a little water, the fat will stay white and won't burn. As a special treat during the black truffle season - late November to early March - you might like to include a few slivers of fresh truffle.

Serves 4

1k/2lb mature potatoes

3 tablespoons goose or duck dripping

4 garlic cloves, slivered or 1 large onion, sliced into fine half-moons

2 tablespoons chopped parsley (flat-leaf rather than curly)

Salt and freshly-milled pepper

Peel the potatoes and chunk them into bite-sized pieces.  

Heat the dripping in a roomy sauté pan. As soon as the fat begins to sizzle and yield up its water, add the potato chunks and toss over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, till they begin to brown.
Add the garlic or onion and a wineglass of water, season with salt and pepper, bubble up and cook gently for another 10-15 minutes, breaking up the potatoes with a fork - crumble a little, don't mash -  as soon as they soften. Continue to cook gently, stirring, until the water has evaporated and everything starts to fry again.  Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.  The potatoes should have absorbed all the goose fat, retain a little shape, and be deliciously golden and soft.

Recipe from Classic French Cooking.