Are you a potato house? We are. My romance with roasted potatoes is varied and long.
But I don’t ever fry — I roast with olive oil to get the crisp browned edges I love so much. One of my staples for years, these cubed roasted potatoes are simply tossed with chopped shallots and fresh minced herbs — rosemary, thyme — and basted with olive oil before roasting. A blast of lemon juice and a dusting of fresh parsley just before serving brightens all the browned-on goodness. Lately, my favorite potatoes have been Yukon golds for their slightly sweet flesh and firm texture. But red and white potatoes produce equally delicious results.
When I started cooking, herbs were seasonal. I grew what I needed for summer and dried a supply or the rest of the year. Markets carried fresh parsley, basil and dill in those days but nothing else. I get it so I included dried herb substitutions in the recipe.
Meanwhile, whether I’m using rosemary fresh or drying it, I strip off the leaves the same way — by holding the woody stem in one hand and pulling down against the leaves to free them. Oregano, marjoram and sage leaves can be removed the same way — one of those little gizmos with a hole isn’t required! And your hands will smell wonderful.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds small potatoes (Yukon gold, red or white) rinsed,
- scrubbed and cut in 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots (or 1-1/2 Tb. minced dried onion flakes)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary leaves (or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves, crushed)
- 1 teaspoon fresh minced thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed )
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
- 3 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
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Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position. Heat oven to 425 F.
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Place potato pieces on a layer of paper towels, put paper towels on top and pat potatoes as dry as possible. Spread potato pieces evenly over a jelly roll pan.
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Put shallots (or minced onion flakes) in a small bowl with the rosemary, thyme, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and the olive oil. Stir well.
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Pour the oil mixture over the potatoes and turn to coat them evenly — I use my fingers to do this.
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Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Remove from oven and turn the pieces with a pancake spatula. Roast 20 minutes longer; remove from oven and turn again. Continue roasting about 5 minutes longer, until potatoes are browned and soft when pierced with a knife.
- At serving time, squeeze lemon juice over the hot potatoes, sprinkle with parsley, taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.
JaneSense
Why do I remove the pan of potatoes from the oven to turn them? Because opening the oven door results in losing about one-third of the heat. That slows down overall cooking time. It’s also not great to try to maneuver food in a hot oven. I clear a path for the hot pan, try to get it out of the oven smoothly but quickly, and close the oven door behind it. Then I toss the potatoes and get them back in quickly. Meanwhile, the oven reheats to temperature.
The potatoes are best when taken straight from the oven. But they can be reheated on a jelly roll or pizza pan. My Miele oven has a dual-heat setting called “surround” which uses the bottom element and the broiler at the same time to reheating foods that need crisping. Many ovens has a similar combination setting which retextures the potatoes.
I’ve also microwaved to reheat these potatoes as leftovers — the crisp edges are lost but not the full flavor.
The recipe calls for a good deal of oil. If I have any left in the pan, I save it and repurpose it for vinaigrette. It adds a depth of flavor from the remnants of browned bits left in the oil. Yum.
Pre Prep
Potatoes can be cubed and bagged (with excess air pressed out) overnight. Be sure to dry them before tossing with oil.
Switch Ups
Don’t like rosemary? Sage can stand in.
The small amount of cayenne pepper will give the potatoes a slight kick. It can be omitted.
Nutrition Facts
Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Serves
| Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 234 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat | 0 | |
| Saturated Fat | 0 | |
| Trans Fat | ||
| Cholesterol | 0 | |
| Sodium | 0 | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 0 | |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 | |
| Sugars | ||
| Protein | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Atticmag
I never knew about taking food out of the oven to stir or turn so the oven temp doesn’t drop. A good hint. Thanks.
Glad you found it helpful Deb. Leaving that oven door open can really slow things down.