Grilled Fingerling Potatoes from ‘Feeding the Fire’

Photograph by William Hereford

Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week is Feeding the Fire: Recipes & Strategies for Better Barbecue & Grilling by Joe Carroll

Grilled Fingerling Potatoes 
Makes 4 servings

This simple side dish can be served alongside any meat or other main course you’re throwing on the grill. A hot grill crisps up the exterior of the fingerlings so they are like fat steak fries, making them the perfect starch accompaniment. 

1 pound fingerling potatoes, scrubbed 
Kosher salt 
Extra-virgin olive oil 
Freshly ground black pepper 
¼ cup melted Garlic Butter (see recipe below) 
¼ cup chopped parsley

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Add 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly, then cut lengthwise in half.

Prepare a hot single-level fire in a grill (see note below).

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with olive oil until well coated. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Grill the potatoes, cut side down, until charred on the first side, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the potatoes over and grill until the skin is crispy, about 2 minutes longer.

Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and toss with the garlic butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the parsley, and toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Garlic Butter
Makes about 1 cup

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes; the butter should simmer gently but not brown. Remove from the heat.

Skim the foam from the top of the butter and slowly pour the butter through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Discard the milky solids and garlic. The butter can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

NOTE: For single-level fire, start charcoal and let burn until coals are glowing red and coated in gray ash, about 15 minutes. Spread an even layer of charcoal, about one or two coals deep, over the bottom of the grill.

Reprinted with permission from Feeding the Fire: Recipes and Strategies for Better Barbecue and Grilling by Joe Carroll and Nick Fauchald (Artisan Books).

More vegetarian grilling recipes:

Grilled Asparagus and Ricotta Pizza

Charred-Romaine Salad

Grilled Grapes