Three Young Potato Recipes Everyone Will Love

Young, small potatoes are not just “a poor harvest.” They are a special product now called “baby potatoes”: sweetish, crunchy, with a tender skin that slips off at a touch. They lack mature starch, so they don’t fall apart into mash but hold their shape and offer a delicate, almost milky flavor. Burying such a delicacy under fatty meat or mayonnaise is a true culinary crime.

We’ve gathered three unusual yet straightforward and easy recipes that suit young potatoes perfectly. With these, you’ll impress both family and guests.

Young Potatoes with Green Butter and Chanterelles

We don’t cover the potatoes with water. Thanks to the high moisture of young tubers, they braise in a pot over low heat, releasing their own juices and absorbing the aroma of butter and herbs. The result is an incredibly tender, concentrated flavor you won’t find in boiled potatoes. Seasonal chanterelles make the dish festive.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Young potatoes (very small or medium) — 1 kg (2.2 lb)

Fresh chanterelles — 300 g (10.5 oz) (if unavailable, substitute button mushrooms, but chanterelles make it a masterpiece)

Butter — 80 g (2.8 oz)

Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp

Dill — 1 large bunch (30 g / 1 oz), finely chopped

Garlic — 3 cloves, crushed with a knife

Salt — 1 tsp (or to taste)

Black pepper — freshly ground, 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Scrub the potatoes gently with a brush or the blunt side of a knife to remove the thin skin. If potatoes are walnut-sized, leave whole; if medium, cut into halves or quarters.

Clean the chanterelles of forest debris with a dry cloth or brush (washing is not recommended). Cut large ones in half.

In a heavy-bottomed pot (or a Dutch oven), place the potatoes, scatter 50 g (1.8 oz) of butter over them, add the crushed garlic and half a teaspoon of salt. Cover tightly and place over the lowest heat. Cook for 25–30 minutes. No water at all! The potatoes will steam in their own juices. Once during cooking, you can gently shake the pot. Check doneness with a knife — it should slide in easily.

While the potatoes cook, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the chanterelles and fry, stirring, until all released moisture evaporates and they begin to turn golden (about 7–10 minutes). At the end, add the remaining butter (30 g / 1 oz), season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Drain any liquid left at the bottom of the cooked potatoes (there will be a little). Remove the garlic. Add the chopped dill and black pepper to the pot, and gently toss so each piece is coated in the buttery dill film.

Serve the potatoes topped with the fried chanterelles. The small tubers will look like gemstones sprinkled with mushroom gold.

Crispy Potatoes with Cream Cheese, Radishes, and Tops

A crispy hot base topped with a cold, tender layer of cream cheese mixed with radishes and their greens. A contrast of hot and cold, crunchy and creamy, neutral and peppery. And the tops, which everyone throws away, are the star aromatic ingredient.

Ingredients (serves 4, appetizer):

Young potatoes (medium-sized, easy to smash) — 8–10 pieces (about 800 g / 1.8 lb)

Cream cheese — 150 g (5.3 oz)

Radishes — 1 bunch (8–10 pieces) with their tops

Lemon — half (juice and zest)

Olive oil — 4 tbsp + extra for brushing

Salt, black pepper — to taste

Preparation:

Wash the potatoes thoroughly with a brush. Without peeling, boil in salted water until tender (pierce easily with a knife). Drain and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes, so you can handle them.

Separate the radishes from their tops. Do not discard the tops! Rinse, shake off excess water, and chop very finely, like parsley. Slice the radishes into thin strips (or grate on a Korean carrot grater if you have one).

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, chopped tops, radishes, zest of half a lemon, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth. The mixture should be thick but spreadable.

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) on the grill/broiler setting (or just maximum top heat). Line a baking sheet with parchment and brush with oil.

Place each potato on the baking sheet and gently but firmly press down with the bottom of a glass or cup into a flat cake, about 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 inch) thick. Try to keep a round shape. The potatoes should crack at the edges — these will be the crispy “rays.”

Brush each cake with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake under the grill for 7–10 minutes, until golden-brown edges form. Watch carefully — as soon as the edges begin to darken, remove them.

Generously spread the cold cream-cheese-radish mixture over the hot potato cakes. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve immediately. The tops in the cheese give a fresh, slightly tangy flavor that no other green can match.

Young Potato Gazpacho with Poached Egg and Smoked Sour Cream

A delicate, refined cream soup made from young potatoes, served ice-cold like Spanish gazpacho. Young potatoes don’t turn mealy when cooked, so the soup is velvety and refreshing with a subtle flavor. Smoked sour cream (easy to make at home) and a warm poached egg elevate it to restaurant quality.

Ingredients (serves 4):

Young potatoes — 500 g (1.1 lb)

Leeks (white part only) — 1 (or 1 small onion)

Vegetable broth or water — 500 ml (2 cups)

Cream (10–20% fat) — 100 ml (about 1/2 cup)

Full-fat sour cream — 100 g (3.5 oz)

Liquid smoke (available in any supermarket) — 3–4 drops

Eggs — 4 (for poaching)

Dill — a few sprigs for serving

Olive oil — 2 tbsp

Salt, white pepper — to taste

Vinegar (9%) — for poaching eggs

Preparation:

Peel the potatoes and slice them into thin rounds. Slice the leek into rings.

In a pot over medium heat, sauté the leek in olive oil until soft (3–4 minutes), without browning. Add the potatoes, stir, and pour in the broth or water so the liquid covers the vegetables. Cook until the potatoes are tender — about 15 minutes after boiling. Young potatoes cook very quickly.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender until perfectly smooth. Season with salt and white pepper. Cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The soup must be ice-cold.

Mix the full-fat sour cream with a few drops of liquid smoke. Start with 2 drops, stir, and taste. A faint campfire aroma should emerge — no more. This gives you smoked sour cream.

In a small pot, bring water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Stir the water to create a vortex and gently release the egg into the center. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel.

Ladle the ice-cold soup into bowls. Place a warm poached egg in the center of each bowl. Add a teaspoonful of smoked sour cream “quenelles” alongside. Garnish with a dill sprig. Each diner stirs the egg and sour cream into the soup, achieving a perfect balance of temperatures and flavors.