I roast my potatoes with garlic and herbs, so why not do the same when boiling them? I discovered that the aromatics really infuse the potatoes when you start them together in cold water and then heat them to boiling.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4

　　1 pound new baby potatoes (about 16)

　　2 sprigs fresh thyme

　　2 sprigs fresh rosemary

　　1 large garlic clove

　　Kosher salt

　　2 tablespoons Herb Butter (page 139), optional

　　

Step 1

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Add the thyme, rosemary, and garlic and bring to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until a knife pierces the potatoes easily, about 15 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Drain, discarding the herbs and garlic. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half if desired. If serving alone as a side dish, toss with the herb butter.

　　Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family.Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.