These baby yellow potatoes are a recreation of an appetizer we had while dining out. They are served with a smoky sauce and topped with tangy pickled shallots and crisp crumbled bacon! The Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes I recently received from Melissa’s Produce are the perfect size for this party snack or side dish.
I’m not really a bar person. Brewery tasting room person, yes, but bar person, not so much. I’m talking about the kind where all the cool kids go. The places where you have to scream to speak with someone and get bumped so many times that you aren’t sure if you actually drank your cocktail or splashed it out of the glass.
Truth be told, though, these places are usually pretty cool, with intriguing interiors and inventive drinks. I don’t like to miss out completely, so if I do go, I prefer to be there about 5:00 pm.
Yes, I know. Old lady. But this is also when happy hour specials are available so I call it me being frugal.
Don’t worry. I see it, too. Happy hour specials could easily merge into the early bird discounts at the local restaurant and eating dinner at 4:00 pm. I may be on a downward spiral.
Despite my lack of love for crowded bars, occasionally I do find myself in one after 5:00 pm, which was the case a couple weeks ago. Hungry and about to go to a long concert I was relieved to see a food menu.
They were out of soft pretzels (the best bar snack ever) so, much to the relief of the long line standing behind me, I scanned the rest of the menu quickly and ordered the potatoes. They were described as potatoes topped with an aioli and pickled red onion. They were bite-size potatoes, the perfect little appetizer. My husband and I were both raving about them soon after our first bite.
Fast forward a couple days later, when that box from Melissa’s Produce arrived. You remember, the one with the finger limes. Well, it also contained a generous amount of Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes.
Boom. I knew exactly what I was going to make with them.
I steamed the baby yellow potatoes just until they were tender. The aioli involved a bit of a shortcut since I wasn’t too keen on using the eggs that I had on hand in their raw form. So I made a mayonnaise and sour cream based sauce and spiced it up a bit.
No red onion either, but I did have a shallot. A quick pickling of thin slices was spot on. (Try to throw these together about an hour before you make the recipe and they will have plenty of flavor, but if you can leave them in the fridge a few hours, they will be even better.) Finally, I topped the whole thing with bacon. While not on the original version, it just seemed appropriate.
The potatoes come in a 1.5 pound bag so I used a whole bag for this recipe. But you might want to grab a couple so you can pick out all the potatoes that are similar in size. This will help them to cook more evenly as they steam. The small bite-size ones are perfect if you are planning to pass this around with toothpicks as an appetizer.
The final dish is a super close match to what we had at the bar. The flavors are delicious together! It’s also one of those snacks that gives you a little wow factor, but it is super simple to make.
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1.5 lbs. Baby Dutch Yellow Potatoes
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet or hot smoked paprika
- Pinch of fine ground sea salt
- 3 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- To make the shallots, place them in a small dish. In a separate small dish, stir together the vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour this over the shallot and stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- To make the potatoes, place them in a steaming basket set over a pot of water. Cover with a lid and heat over high until the water begins to boil. Reduce the heat slightly to maintain a simmer. Steam the potatoes for 15 to 17 minutes, just until tender. I used smaller potatoes and it took mine 16 minutes. Begin timing once the water begins to boil. Watch them closely. You want them to be tender, but not falling apart. Remove from the steaming basket and set aside.
- While the potatoes steam, you can make the rest of the recipe. In a small dish, stir together the mayonnaise and sour cream until smooth. Stir in the hot sauce, smoked paprika and salt.
- To serve, spread a few tablespoons of sauce on a serving plate. Pile the potatoes onto the plate. Top the potatoes with the remaining sauce, making sure that each potato has a little on it.
- Drain the shallots and sprinkle them over the potatoes. Sprinkle on bacon and cilantro. Serve warm with toothpicks.
Discloser: The potatoes used in this post were provided by Melissa’s Produce.
Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.
Honestly, this is why Scott and I day drink if we’re going out. That way we’re home by 5 or 6pm when all the bars start filling up with loud folks. Haha!
I love the idea of the pickled shallot with the potatoes. I just picked up some nice butter potatoes so I might give this a try this weekend!
Haha! I, too, am a fan of day drinking. Yes! Give them a try. The shallot is the best part. Gives it a little tangy, sweet twist with all the saltiness. Let me know what you think if you try them!
I’m a little older than you, and I can attest that seniors are very polite dinner companions! We go out early all the time–except when you are in town, then we put on our best impression of being cool kids! Recently, we found an awesome bar on our side of town that has the best small plates! We like to get there for happy hour! Great recipe–I love that it’s so simple and fresh! And it’s a great idea for SuperBowl parties, too!
What a surprise it must be for you to realize I am not cool at all. Haha! Small plates are starting to grow on me. That sounds great!
You can count me out for bars also, but I am always up for bar food!! These are such fun potato bites!
Thanks, Joanne! Me too!