Tiny new potatoes are boiled and then roasted to make potato bites with a creamy, dense flesh and a crispy top! This recipe is fun, yummy, gluten-free, and has just a little bit of bacon (in the form of pancetta) to finish it off. If you’re looking for some great party food, you’ve come to the right place.
The summer farm stands and farmer’s markets are starting up for the year! It’s all early season produce, like rhubarb, Swiss chard and other greens, asparagus, and tiny new potatoes, but I’ll take it.
I’ve already made a pile of recipes from the bounty, like asparagus salad, asparagus quiche, another batch of rhubarb muffins, sauteed arugula and beans (coming soon!), and these potato bites. I just couldn’t resist buying a bunch of German butterball potatoes when I was at the farm stand a couple of weeks ago – they are so yummy and buttery! – and I happily found time in between painting our living room and organizing the house for the family visit to make the recipe and take photos.
Before I talk about the recipe, I’d like to note it was a great visit and we loved having everyone over! It was a lot of fun and I made super tasty brunch for Mother’s Day. (I did get my pampering today when my daughter made me a mocha latte and chocolate chip banana pancakes. Yum!) Also I have a beautifully redecorated living room, we cleaned out my craft room which I’m now using as my office, and we finally got our reorganization of the dining room finished. All good. 🙂
Onto the next visit! My parents are visiting after Memorial Day and that should be fun too, as well as more low key since we are not going to be tackling any major home projects in the next week.
As for the recipe, it’s super easy and simple!
- a little slicing
- a little boiling
- a little roasting
- a little topping
What you do is take the new potatoes, slice them in half, and then cut a little bit off the ends so they will stand up all pretty. Once they are cut, it’s time to boil them in salted water followed by roasting them until they’re crispy.
And, yes, you want to boil them first! They are much more crispy this way. Boiled potatoes get an even, thick layer of crispiness which only roasted potatoes don’t get.
A few more minutes to crisp up the pancetta and then all that’s left is to load them up with toppings. Well…almost all. Because there is one more thing! And that’s to eat them. 🙂
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
Crispy Potato Bites Topped with Pancetta and Chives
Ingredients
- 12 new potatoes, 1 1/2 to 2 inches long
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche
- 6 pieces thin sliced pancetta, or thin sliced bacon
- 12 chives, chopped
- sea salt, or kosher salt
Instructions
- Cut a little slice off the ends of the potatoes and then cut them in half. The little cut off the ends allows them to sit upright on the platter.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Put a foil-covered baking sheet in the oven as it heats.
- Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, and then toss the potatoes with the olive oil and salt.
- Arrange the potatoes cut side down on the hot baking sheet. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked all the way through and the cut ends are a golden brown. Flip the potatoes cut side up onto a serving platter.
- Lay the pancetta onto the baking sheet. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pancetta until it is browned and crispy, 8-10 minutes. If your pancetta is super thin it may be done in 5 minutes, so keep an eye on it. Transfer the cooked pancetta to a towel lined plate.
- Top each potato with a dollop of creme fraiche, a crumble of pancetta, and a pinch of chives. Sprinkle a little sea salt over it all and serve.
Melissa Griffiths says
Wow – you’ve been busy! I hope your family visits went well! These potato bites look darling and delicious – I love new potatoes!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! It’s good to be busy and I love seeing family (and cooking for them) so it was all good. These potatoes were my husband’s idea. He loves little potato bites. And new potatoes are so great! This reminds me that I have a bag of them in the pantry right now, and some pancetta in my fridge. Hmmmm…