Fingerling Potatoes with Dipping Aioli
Fingerling potatoes are cooked until tender and served with a delicious fresh aioli for dipping. It’s a great, hearty appetizer to serve for any special dinner or party!
You won’t believe how magnificent these are until you taste them. I saw Ina making these on Barefoot Contessa the other day and I was INSTANTLY sold.
Basically you cut fingerling potatoes in half and lay them all out on a platter with a big bowl of freshly made aioli, and you dip the fingerling potatoes into the aioli and eat.
If you’ve never made aioli at home, now is the time. It’s SO easy and sooooooo tangy, creamy and delicious.
Fingerling Potatoes with Dipping Aioli
Fingerling potatoes are cooked until tender and served with a delicious fresh aioli for dipping. It's a great, hearty appetizer to serve for any special dinner or party!
Ingredients
- 1/2 slice bread soft-ish sandwich bread, not a crusty baguette
- 1.5 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1.5 lbs fingerlings
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 egg yolks
- zest of 1 small lemon
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp saffron
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Place the half bread slice in a bowl with the cider vinegar. Let it soak and soften up for 5 minutes. We will use this bread to thicken the aioli.
- Place the fingerling potatoes in a big pot and cover with cold water. Toss in a tablespoon of salt, then bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your fingerlings. They are done when they are fork tender (taste one to be sure they are perfectly done). Drain and let cool.
- In the meantime, it’s time to make the aioli. Place the garlic, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, saffron, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper in a food processor and blend until very smooth (you don’t want big chunks of raw garlic in the aioli). Toss in the bread and its vinegar, and process again until smooth and distributed. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil so it can emulsify. Once it’s a smooth homogeneous mixture, taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Slice the fingerlings in half down the length of the potato. Lay them on a platter with a bowl of aioli, and season the potatoes with sea salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chives. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from an episode of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa.
Nutrition
Calories: 207kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 277mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
21 Comments on “Fingerling Potatoes with Dipping Aioli”
Were can I find aioli? And is there a recipe for it?
made this and the whole family loved it!
Specially the sauce!
This sounds delicous, just one question: because of the raw egg, is it pasteurized? I know that there’s probably nothing to worry about, but I always just feel safer knowing that I won’t get that 1% chance or whatever of getting samonella. Do you think that you could pasteurize the yolks in a double boiler beforehand, like with a semifreddo, then let them cool and add them to the ailoli?
Hi Myrtle, I would recommend just starting with some pasteurized eggs, you can buy them at the store now which is pretty cool!
If I do not find fingerings to buy, can I use small potatoes and slice them in tiny wedges?
Can I use sweet potatoes too?
Hi Doris, I’m having a tricky time finding fingerlings lately too! If you can’t find fingerlings, you can try to get those small heirloom type potatoes. If you can’t find those either then you could try to cut the potatoes into wedges. You know what I think would be extra good? I make these garlic herb steak fries (recipe here: https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/garlic-herb-steak-fries/ ) and make this dipping aioli for those. It’s scrumptious!
Thank you for being so generous.
I gotta tell you, Joanne…I made this tonight for an appetizer! It was AMAZING! I loved it and so did our guests! This one always stayed with me and I’m glad that I tried it….it’s a keeper!
YAY! I had company over yesterday too. Sounds like your dinner went well! Anyway, I’m glad to hear from you, funny enough I was thinking about you the other day! Happy cooking lady =)
I’m from Mallorca, haha! In Mallorca we speak a dialect of Catalan called “mallorquí”, which is different from that spoken in Menorca or Ibiza. Nor the Catalans understand the islanders when they talk xD so imagine the rest of the Spanish peninsula. It is another language entirely… I encourage you to try to prepare a traditional homemade allioli, it’s not difficult but requires a strong arm and great patience! Thanks for reply! 😀
Hello! This recipe looks amazing!
I am from Balearic Islands (Spain), where allioli was invented. The correct spell of the word is “allioli” (all=garlic, i=and, oli=oil, the word means “garlic & oil” in catalan language). The traditional recipe of allioli doesn’t include lemon, it is only made with the two ingredients, oil and garlic (its not a mayonnaise with addings). Oil is added slowly and carefully over the mashed garlic, stiring up always in the same direction. It requires a lot of patience but the final result is unforgettable. Another ‘allioli’ recipe is made with mashed potato, oil and garlic; this one is easier to combine and traditionally is the version of allioli that is served with a dish based in cooked snails. Snails are removed from its shell with a toothpick and dipped in this allioli potato sauce. Thats a classic! Hope you’ve find it interesting! Regards from a new reader.
Wow, you are so knowledgeable about the topic!!! Thank you for the history, it is very interesting. I lived in Granada for 4 months and when I visited Barcelona I was so surprised by the catalan language….it’s definitely neither castillian spanish nor french. Could not understand it at all! haha. I didn’t make it to the balearic islands, unfortunately.
Wait no, I did go to the balearic islands, I went to Mallorca! Which island do you live on?
Yum- I think I will add this to my list of things to make for my housewarming party. Thanks for sharing!
These look incredible. I simply must try making aioli. Awesome photos as usual too. I really like the stuff with white bait, I think they go fantastically.
Oh, I saw that show and I thought they sounded INSANELY delicious! You. are. awesome!
Yeah, a lot of times her recipes are very simple and I wouldn’t think they would appeal to me, but I always find myself making her recipes and loving them!!! I really like Ina!
They are good. I had them once.
Wow, that really does sound tasty. Great party food!
Great recipe! I love roasting fingerling potatoes, so good! This aioli sounds like a great dipper!
This is brilliant. I love your picture too, looks like an egg at first.