Fingerling Potatoes with Dipping Aioli

By dkanon

These fingerling potatoes with aioli are a perfect side dish for a buffet style dinner. No pun intended, they are a great finger food! And, the aioli is delicious!

Ingredients

• 1/2 slice bread (soft-ish sandwich bread, not a crusty baguette)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 lbs fingerling potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 egg yolks
• Zest of 1 small lemon
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Chopped chives for garnish

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from fifteenspatulas.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place the half bread slice in a bowl with the cider vinegar. Let it soak and soften up for 5 minutes. We will use this bread to thicken the aioli.

Place the fingerling potatoes in a big pot and cover with cold water. Toss in a tablespoon of salt, then bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your fingerlings. They are done when they are fork tender (taste one to be sure they are perfectly done). Drain and let cool.

In the meantime, it's time to make the aioli. Place the garlic, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, saffron, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a food processor and blend until very smooth (you don't want big chunks of raw garlic in the aioli). Toss in the bread and its vinegar, and process again until smooth and distributed. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil so it can emulsify. Once it's a smooth homogeneous mixture, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Slice the fingerlings in half down the length of the potato. Lay them on a platter with a bowl of aioli, and season the potatoes with sea salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chives. Serve and enjoy!