Roast Potatoes With Garlic and Rosemary

Category: Side Dishes | Blog URL: http://www.fureyandthefeast.com/2009/03/rosemarys-spud/

This recipe was entered in The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook contest, a compilation of the world’s best food blogs which was published in Fall 2010.

Photo: Cynthia Furey

Ingredients

3 pounds red rose potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed slightly

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon butter

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut potatoes into quarters or small, bite-sized pieces. Place on a large, parchment-lined rimmed baking pan.

Drizzle olive oil over potatoes. Add garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper (don’t overdo it; you can always add more after roasting). Using your hands, toss potatoes to coat in olive oil and to distribute garlic and rosemary.

Dot potatoes with small pinches of butter.

Place baking pan in oven and roast for 25 to 35 minutes, or until potatoes are tender and browned. (I actually like them really browned, so I leave them in there for about 10 to 15 minutes more). Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

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About

Roasting vegetables is great on so many levels: Though they may end up shriveled and wrinkly (I like to call this the “rustic” look), any sugars they contain are caramelized. This intensifies the vegetable’s flavor. Sometimes, I’ll cut carrots into thin, fry-shaped strips, toss them in olive oil and salt and crank up the oven until they’re almost black. The end result is a concentrated and heightened carrot flavor.

For potatoes, I don’t go as extreme, but I do like me a fairly browned spud. My favorite part about them is the crisp, almost leathery skin they develop while roasting. With a slight tug of your teeth, the skin releases a pillowy center, which, in this recipe, is achieved by adding salt before roasting to draw out a small amount of moisture from the potatoes.