Pepperoncini & Pesto Fondant Potatoes

4/8/2025

Pepperoncini & Pesto Fondants

Prep Time: 25 Min
Cook Time: 1 Hour +

Yields: 3 - 4

www.thehappyveg.ca/recipes/my-perfect-pesto-recipe

For those of you that don't know, I'm working with a small, air fryer oven. In a perfect world, you would start and end this recipe in your skillet that would go straight in to the oven. Unfortunately, I had to transfer them to a baking dish. If your skillet fits in the oven, skip the baking dish and prepare everything in the skillet. Much easier!

Begin heating the pepperoncini, EVOO, and two Tbsp. butter, in a large skillet set to just about medium. Slice the ends off your potatoes and then cut each potato in to two equal sized rounds. Place them in to the skillet in a single layer, season with salt & pepper, and let them cook until they have some serious golden brownage. This should take between 12 - 15 minutes. We want golden brown, not charred! Monitor them. Flip them, season them again, and continue to cook until golden on the next side.
Pour in the wine (step back as it will probably sizzle quite ferociously.) In the meantime, add your broth to a 7" x 11" baking dish, Preheat your oven to 400 F and place the baking dish in the oven to warm up. Once the wine has mostly reduced, remove the baking dish from the oven and set it on to a wire rack. Carefully transfer the golden potatoes from the skillet in to the baking dish full of warm broth. Arrange them in a single layer and use a rubber spatula to scrape all the butter / wine from the skillet in to your baking dish.

Season the dish liberally with salt, pepper, and pepper flakes. Nestle the garlic cloves, fresh parsley (including stems), and fresh basil around the potatoes. Chop your cheese rind in to 3 or 4 small pieces and toss that in to the dish as well. With the remaining 2 Tbsp. of butter, chop in to cubes and place them around the dish to finish.
Return the dish to the oven for approximately 40 - 45 minutes until the potatoes are smooth and tender. Use a sharp knife to pierce one and it should slide through with ease. While the potatoes bake, prepare your PESTO according to the recipe provided for service.
For service, spoon some of your gorgeous pesto on to your plates and nestle the tender potatoes in to your pesto. Give another dollop of pesto on top followed by some fresh parsley & basil. Finish the plate with some finely shredded grana padano. Pluck out the garlic cloves and smear them on your potatoes for a lush bite!
ENJOY!