The Enduring Appeal of Potatoes: Why This Simple Side Reigns Supreme

Potatoes hold a special place in cuisines around the world, and for good reason. In many cultures, including the Netherlands where this recipe originates, potatoes have been a beloved staple for centuries. Their incredible versatility is unmatched, allowing for countless culinary applications. You can bake them until crispy, steam them for a tender bite, boil them to fluffy perfection, fry them to a golden crisp, or even mash and puree them into creamy delights. Each preparation method unlocks a unique texture and flavor profile, showcasing the potato’s remarkable adaptability.

Beyond their diverse cooking methods, potatoes also come in a vast array of types, each offering its own distinctive characteristics. From tiny, delicate baby potatoes that burst with natural sweetness, to the hearty and floury Russet ideal for baking, or the creamy and firm Maris Piper perfect for boiling, there’s a potato suited for every culinary vision. Even the striking purple potato adds a touch of gourmet flair and color to any dish. This extensive variation, coupled with their satisfying taste and inherent nutritional benefits, ensures potatoes remain a firm favorite on dinner tables and in kitchens everywhere.

This time, we bring you a recipe that truly celebrates the potato’s comforting essence: delicious boiled potatoes, perfectly prepared to absorb the exquisite flavors of a homemade parsley butter infused with fresh chives. As the warm, tender potatoes are tossed with this aromatic herb butter, all those delightful flavors melt and meld together, creating a side dish that is irresistibly delicious and surprisingly elegant. It’s a simple concept with profound flavor. Give it a try yourself and experience the magic!

Essential Ingredients for Your Buttery Parsley Boiled Potatoes

Crafting these delectable boiled potatoes with parsley butter requires just a few key ingredients, each playing a vital role in achieving the perfect taste and texture. High-quality components are the secret to this dish’s success. You’ll find the precise measurements in the comprehensive recipe card located at the bottom of this article.

• Potatoes: The Foundation of Flavor
  For this recipe, selecting the right type of potato is absolutely crucial for achieving that desirable fluffy texture. We highly recommend using floury (starchy) potatoes such as Russet, Doré, King Edward, Maris Piper, or the traditional Dutch Bintje. These varieties are known for their high starch content, which causes them to break down beautifully when boiled. The result is a wonderfully fluffy, tender interior that acts like a sponge, readily absorbing the rich, flavorful herb butter. Their texture ensures that every bite is soft, creamy, and infused with taste, making them ideal for boiling and buttering. Avoid waxy varieties which tend to hold their shape too well and won’t absorb the butter as effectively.
• Butter: The Heart of the Dish’s Richness
  Only real, unsalted butter will do for that rich, luscious, and creamy taste that defines this side dish. Using unsalted butter is a culinary best practice as it gives you full control over the seasoning, allowing the delicate flavors of the fresh herbs to truly shine without any unwanted saltiness. When melted over the warm, freshly boiled potatoes, the butter not only imparts an incredible depth of flavor but also creates a silky, inviting coating that elevates the entire eating experience. For ease of mixing, ensure your butter is softened to room temperature before combining it with the herbs.
• Fresh Herbs: Parsley & Chives for Vibrant Aroma
  These vibrant green herbs are the undisputed stars of our homemade herb butter, providing fresh flavor and appealing color. Freshly chopped parsley (flat-leaf or curly) brings a bright, earthy, and slightly peppery note, adding a burst of freshness. Chives, with their delicate and mild oniony flavor, complement the parsley without being overpowering, contributing a subtle savory depth. Always opt for fresh herbs over dried ones; their intense aroma and lively texture are irreplaceable, making a significant difference to the final taste and presentation of your buttery potatoes.
• Sea Salt: The Essential Flavor Enhancer
  A pinch of coarse sea salt is absolutely essential to awaken, balance, and amplify all the wonderful flavors in your herb butter. Its subtle crunch and complex mineral notes add a delightful accent that transforms the butter from simply good to truly exceptional. Unlike fine table salt, the larger crystals of coarse sea salt dissolve more slowly, providing intermittent bursts of savory flavor that highlight the freshness of the herbs and the natural taste of the potatoes. Seasoning with sea salt truly brings out the best in every ingredient.

Crafting Your Buttery Parsley Potatoes: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

Preparing this delightful potato side dish is both straightforward and incredibly rewarding. The process is designed to be simple, ensuring even novice cooks can achieve perfect results. Below, we’ve outlined the key steps to guide you. For a detailed, printable recipe card with exact ingredient amounts, please scroll to the very end of this blog post.

1. Prepare the Potatoes for Boiling: Begin by carefully peeling your chosen floury potatoes. Once peeled, cut them into pieces that are roughly the same size and shape. This step is crucial for ensuring that all your potatoes cook evenly and finish at the same time, preventing some from becoming mushy while others are still hard in the center. After cutting, wash the potatoes thoroughly under cold running water to remove any excess starch. Place the washed potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to just cover them by about half an inch (approximately 1 cm).
2. Boil to Perfection: Bring the pot of potatoes to a strong rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat slightly to maintain a steady simmer and continue to cook for approximately 20 minutes. The cooking time may vary slightly depending on the size and type of your potatoes. To test for doneness, simply pierce a potato piece with a fork; if it slides in without any resistance, they’re perfectly cooked and tender. Carefully drain all the water from the pot, then return the pot with the drained potatoes to very low heat for a quick 20 seconds. During this time, gently shake the pot to allow any residual surface moisture on the potatoes to evaporate. This “steam-dry” step is vital as it prevents a watery coating and allows the butter to cling better, resulting in a fluffier, more flavorful potato.
3. Whip Up the Herb Butter: While your potatoes are simmering, prepare your aromatic herb butter. In a small mixing bowl, combine the unsalted butter, which should be at room temperature for easy blending, with the coarse sea salt.
4. Infuse with Fresh Herbs: Take your freshly chopped parsley and chives and add them directly into the butter and sea salt mixture. Use a fork or a small spatula to thoroughly mix all the ingredients until the herbs and salt are evenly distributed throughout the butter, creating a vibrant and fragrant compound butter.
5. Combine and Serve Immediately: Once the potatoes are perfectly steamed dry and still piping hot from the pot, add the freshly made parsley butter directly over them. Gently toss, stir, or shake the potatoes to ensure the butter quickly melts and generously coats every single piece evenly. The residual heat from the potatoes will work its magic, transforming the solid herb butter into a luscious, flavor-packed sauce that infuses every crevice. Serve these delicious boiled parsley butter potatoes right away to enjoy them at their absolute best, while the butter is still warm and fragrant!

Tips for Perfect Boiled Potatoes with Parsley Butter

Achieving perfectly buttery and herbaceous potatoes is incredibly easy with a few simple considerations and techniques. Follow these tips to ensure your side dish is always a hit:

• Choose Your Potatoes Wisely: The type of potato you select significantly impacts the final texture. As previously mentioned, floury or starchy potatoes (like Russet, King Edward, or Maris Piper) are your best friends here. Their crumbly texture once cooked makes them excellent at absorbing the rich butter and aromatic herbs, creating a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Waxy potatoes, while great for salads due to their ability to hold shape, are not ideal for this recipe as they won’t absorb flavors as effectively.
• Uniform Sizing is Key for Even Cooking: Don’t underestimate the importance of cutting your potatoes into uniform pieces. This crucial step guarantees that all pieces cook at the same rate. Without uniform sizing, some potatoes might be overcooked and mushy while others remain undercooked and hard, leading to an inconsistent and less enjoyable dish.
• Don’t Skip the Steam-Dry Step: This quick 20-second step after draining the boiled water is absolutely vital for the dish’s success. It allows any residual surface water on the potatoes to evaporate, creating a slightly drier, more receptive surface. This dryness helps the butter adhere better and penetrate the potatoes more deeply, preventing a watery or greasy coating and enhancing the fluffy texture.
• Room Temperature Butter is a Must: Always ensure your butter is softened to room temperature before you begin mixing it with the herbs and salt. Softened butter is much easier to combine smoothly, creating a cohesive, well-integrated herb butter that melts beautifully and effortlessly over the warm potatoes, ensuring even distribution of flavor.
• Get Creative with Herbs & Seasoning Variations: While parsley and chives offer a classic and universally loved combination, feel free to unleash your culinary creativity! Other fresh herbs like dill, rosemary, or thyme would also be incredibly delicious with boiled potatoes, each adding a unique aromatic dimension. A mix of a few different herbs can introduce wonderful complexity and depth of flavor. Consider adding a pinch of garlic powder or a tiny bit of lemon zest to your herb butter for an extra pop of flavor.

Serving Suggestions & Culinary Pairings

These simple yet sophisticated parsley butter potatoes are incredibly versatile and can gracefully accompany a wide array of main courses. Their delicate flavor profile and comforting texture make them the perfect canvas for many culinary pairings. Here are some inspired ideas to elevate your meal:

• Classic Roast Meats and Poultry: They are an absolutely fantastic pairing for a succulent Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken, a traditional roast beef, or any roasted poultry. The rich butter and fresh herbs complement the savory, often herb-crusted flavors of roast meats beautifully, creating a harmonious and hearty meal.
• Elegant Beef Dishes: For a more refined and impressive meal, serve these potatoes alongside a majestic Classic Beef Wellington, a perfectly seared steak, or a tender beef tenderloin. The subtle elegance of the potatoes allows the premium protein of your main dish to shine, while still offering a delightful contrast in texture and taste.
• Fresh Fish & Seafood: The light, bright, and fresh flavors of parsley and chives make these potatoes an excellent accompaniment to various fish and seafood dishes. They pair wonderfully with flaky baked salmon, delicate pan-seared cod, grilled shrimp, or even buttery scallops, enhancing the natural sweetness of the seafood.
• Hearty Vegetarian Mains: These versatile potatoes are not just for meat-eaters! They can perfectly complement a robust lentil loaf, a vibrant vegetable tart, a savory mushroom Wellington, or even simple roasted seasonal vegetables like asparagus and green beans, creating a satisfying and complete vegetarian meal.

Storing Leftovers & Reviving Them for a New Meal

While these boiled parsley butter potatoes are undeniably at their peak when enjoyed immediately, still warm and fragrant, don’t worry if you find yourself with a few leftovers! They can be easily stored and repurposed. Simply transfer any remaining potatoes to an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 2-3 days, ensuring they retain their freshness.

And here’s a fantastic, chef-approved tip for transforming leftover boiled potatoes into an entirely new and equally delicious meal: the next day, slice the cold boiled potatoes into thick rounds or small cubes. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with a generous drizzle of olive oil or a knob of butter. Add a finely sliced small onion to the skillet and sauté it until it softens and turns translucent, releasing its sweet aroma. Then, add your potato slices and fry them, turning occasionally, until they are beautifully golden brown and delightfully crispy on the edges. This re-imagined dish, often referred to as “Baked Potatoes from Leftovers” or simply “Fried Boiled Potatoes,” is a wonderfully flavorful and textural contrast to the original, proving that leftover boiled potatoes are truly the best for frying! It’s an easy way to prevent food waste and enjoy a whole new side dish.

Did you make this delicious recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram! I love to see what your creation looks like and regularly share the most beautiful photos of you! Did you like this recipe? Then leave a rating on the recipe card! Your feedback helps other home cooks and me enormously.

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Boiled Potatoes with Parsley Butter

Andréa

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