First, I start with two pounds of red potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 3/4" to 1" wedges. 
Toss with 3 Tbs. oil until all pieces are coated.
Salt and pepper the potatoes generously. Toss until salt and pepper have evenly disbursed.
Place the potatoes in a 9x13 in. baking pan. Arrange the pieces so that the skin side is facing up. This will give us a nice crust on the cut side as it bakes. If desired, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of crushed dried rosemary over the potatoes.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for twenty minutes at 425°F. This will allow the potatoes to bake in their own steam to help the insides fully cook.
After twenty minutes, remove the aluminum foil and continue to bake for fifteen more minutes. Using a metal spatula, flip all the potato pieces over so the skin side is now touching the bottom of the pan. Try to keep as much of the crispy crust that has formed on the potato pieces as you flip.Another 15 minutes in the oven and the potatoes should be done. You can keep cooking to achieve the level of color that is desired on the cut side of the potatoes. I usually stop once it reaches a light golden color.
For a strong garlic flavor, simply puree 2 cloves of garlic (once garlic has been minced, scrape with a knife to create a fine mush OR use a zester on the garlic cloves) and put it in a medium bowl. Using a metal spatula, scrape the potatoes out of the pan and into the bowl. The hot potatoes will just barely cook the garlic. Toss well.For a milder garlic flavor, cook the garlic in a teaspoon of oil until it softens (just before it begins to brown). Toss the cooked garlic with the potatoes.
Garlic Roasted Potatoes (serves four to six)
| 2 lb. red potatoes, cut into wedges | toss | skin up in pan | sprinkle | 425°F for 20 min. covered | 425°F for 15 min. uncovered | flip to skin down in pan | 425°F for 15 min. uncovered | toss |
| 3 Tbs. oil | ||||||||
| salt & pepper | ||||||||
| 1 tsp. crushed dried rosemary | ||||||||
| 2 cloves garlic, pureed | cook (optional) | |||||||
Everybody freaks when you roast at 500, but it makes a difference.
Even better, get a fresh whole chicken. Add two tablespoons of butter to the cavity, a few lemon wedges and salt and pepper. Do your potatoes and arrange around the chicken in a roasting pan (preferably with two inch high sides). Add 6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled.
Roast at 500 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, use a spoon or spatula to move the chicken around to prevent sticking. Turn the potatoes.
Roast for another 35-45 minutes at 500, turning the potatoes every 15 mintues.
The potatoes roast in the rendered chicken fat. Not diet food, but I've never had a potato go uneaten.
Don't bother peeling or crushing the garlic, just toss them in. The skin forms a seal around the cloves allowing the garlic to cook in its own vapour, though enough of the vapour escapes to flavour the potatoes. Their skin is porous, whereas the alu isn't so the whole dish is perfumed. The cooking time serves to reduce their pungency.
What you have at the end is a roasted garlic puree contained in its own little skin. Serve them whole mixed in with the potatoes - they can be eaten direct from their skins or pressed with your fork to extract the puree. And don't be scared of adding too much garlic - contrary to popular opinion it's not exceptionally garlicky, but instead the more you add the more the cloves develop a 'sweetness' that goes well with the herbs and salt on the potatoes. Think caramelised onions...
Of course, like all dishes containing garlic, this should be enjoyed with a group of *close* friends... ;)
i would start with basil, mint, thyme and parsley.
in seperate containers, you can even pick up growingherbs from supermarkets(well in teh UK) and replant them with a small amount of compost.
of even a seed kit from amazon..
herb kit
I prefer to use maris piper pot's for my roast, ideal pot's for this receipe.
1. Chop the garlic into fine pieces. Then, at an angle crush the garlic while making slicing motions to reduce it into a pulp.
2. Rub the garlic through a microplane zester. The resting product will be a pureed mush of garlic.
3. Use a garlic press and then press and cut with a knife until it is baby food consistency.
Hope this helped.
It'll take a garlic clove and puree it in one press, no peeling required.
Any kitchen store worth it's salt will have one...
My two cents on this recipe: I often make similar oven-roasted potatoes and don't bother covering them with aluminum foil. (But I cut my potatoes in thinner fry-shapes). My tricks for success are:
- Make sure oven is hot (200 to 230° Celcius) and well preheated
- Preheat for a few minutes the cookie sheet on which you'll bake the potatoes
- Use a paper lining on the pan (so potatoes don't stick and no mess to clean up)
Total cooking time about 30 minutes, turning them over a couple of times.
The longer I leave the potatoes in the oven, the crispier they get, though at some point they get a bit dry if left too long.
Ingredients:
King edward potatoes
Salt
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary
Beef dripping or goose fat (the use of animal fat is imperative to get the best flavour)
Preheat oven to 180C.
Peel and cut the potaoes into roughly equal sized portions -usually thirds with king edwards.
Par boil in well salted water until just soft on the outside (about 10 mins)
Preheat your roasting dish with a lot of fat in it - enough to fill the bottom of the dish to a depth of about 5mm.
Drain the potatoes and then toss them around fairly vigourously in the pan to fluff the edges of the potatoes - this is VERY important as the fluffed edges will brown and crisp beautifully.
Add the potatoes to the hot fat and using a spoon baste them with the fat (The fat MUST be sizzling hot before you add the potatoes).
Bash up some thyme and rosemary in a pestle and mortar and sprinkle this over the potatoes along with some black pepper.
Return the pan to the oven and roast until done approx 40 mins to an hour at 180 C basting and turning every 10 to 15 mins.
I hope you enjoy!
It should be okay to add the fresh rosemary at the beginning of the baking. Since it's covered for the first part, the rosemary will just steam and add a lot of fragrance. I don't think it will burn during the uncovered baking portion - it may dry out, which should be okay.
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds red-skinned new potatoes, halved lengthwise
Blend parsley, chives, rosemary, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in processor to coarse puree. (Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss potatoes and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Arrange potatoes, cut side down, on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until potatoes are golden brown and tender, about 40 minutes. Using spatula, transfer potatoes to large bowl. Add pesto and toss to coat. Serve.
First, one trick to know if you have problems with them sticking to the pan. Initially they will stick but once they have crisped up enough they automatically release and turning is foolproof. If you try to turn them too early, you will find the crisp side will separate from the rest.... be patient.... This also applies if you are pan dry-frying (stove top with barely any oil..... see very healthy recipe below).
Recipe #1:
If you like crisp (on the outside) baked potatoes, then you should dry them with a cloth before baking and after you have roughed up the edges.
After peeling, I run the tines of a fork over the top (rounded edge of half a potato) for a crispy and fancy attractive top (can be slightly dusted with flour also if you want).
Another surface treatment is to make parallel (1cm) 1/4 inch (or deeper) deep cuts, about 1/16-1/8 inch apart across the rounded edge. Remember to dry the potatoes with a cloth after this is done.
Then add salt, pepper and any herbs or spices you like then the oil. Or put everything in a plastic bag and shake so that all surfaces are coated. Bake in hot over (500 degrees is fine) for as long as necessary until nice and brown. Turn when the bottom has released, or if top is sufficiently coated with oil (drying first guarantees this) then there is no need to turn.... both top & bottom will be crisp. I always cook with lots of whole onions & other mixed baking vegetables (pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots) so that the flavours combine. If I want to add garlic to the mix then I wash whole bulbs of garlic, slice the top off, so that most of the clove tops are exposed, drizzle with salt, pepper & oil and lay a small piece of foil over each bulb.... this makes sure that the garlic does not burn (nothing worse than burnt garlic!).
The baking can take a couple of hours. Turn the temperature down if it seems to be burning.... not likely though in the center of the oven. Of course it tastes much better if they are cooked in the same pan as the meat. Just add them to the pan at the same time as the meat..... If you want to cover everything with foil at the beginning then that is ok too.... if you want to cook at a lower temperature, it will just take longer to cook.
If the meat has a fairly quick cooking time, then of course you can par-boil the potatoes or cook (covered) in a microwave before putting in oven, but remember that you must have a dry surface (before adding oil) to get a very crisp potato. This type of baked potato is much crisper (still fluffy and soft on inside) than is typically served in the USA.... I now live in the USA and find that I am always being asked for this recipe.
The other recipe is very different and unbelievably easy and surprising mellow in flavour.
Recipe #2:
For 4 people, I take about 1/2 cup (maybe 20 cloves?) of garlic and a least a half cup of lemon juice (maybe 3/4 cup), salt pepper, & herbs of you want (but certainly not necessary), put in a blender until smooth. You could safely double this if you want!
Take whole baby potatoes, or chopped up regular baking potatoes, wedges of onions or whole small onions, and combine with garlic/lemon mixture. Put in same pan as the Meat (whole chicken breasts, chicken thighs, whole pork loin etc.). Cook covered or uncovered until meat has cooked. Take meat out and continue cooking vegetables until caramelized. Baste as often as necessary. The flavours of this are incredibly complex and it does not taste heavily of either garlic or lemon. I'm sure you could even be more generous with the garlic and lemon without any problem. It tastes like the finest French cooking!
Recipe #3:
This recipe is very different but a healthy and delicious way to get your vegetables. It is basically a combination of 2 vegetables cooked separately and then combined. The best combinations are: potato/eggplant, potato/cauliflower, potato/okra, and potato/brussel sprouts. I want to add here that I don't really enjoy any of these vegetables cooked any other way but love them prepared this way... I find others say the same thing.
You need 2 large flat bottom fry-pans. Add very little oil to each pan (maybe 1 tablespoon) and make sure that it barely coats the bottom of the pan.
In one pan you add COOKED chopped up potatoes (bite sized pieces), in the other pan you add the other vegetable.... salt and pepper both to taste. Cover this second pan with a glass lid (so you can see what is going on without lifting the lid unnecessarily.... you need the natural moisture in the vegetable to be retained). Steam this vegetable to start it's cooking. When this vegetable is just about cooked through, then remove the lid and brown it a little. Toss/turn as necessary. Note: If you prepare using eggplant, don't worry if it gets mushy. It blends well with the potato as mush anyway! If you are preparing okra, then don't cover, just cook both sides with the lid off till brown... the sticky stiff will disappear as it browns.
The potato will initially stick to the pan but when it has started to crisp up it will release automatically (especially on an aluminum or non-stick pan) allowing you to turn it as often as necessary to crisp on all sides. (As an aside note, if you are pan-frying pot-stickers/dumplings the same principal applies.)
Once both vegetables are cooked, add them together in the larger pan and sprinkle with your favourite herb/curry-powder/spice blend and toss together.... maybe a little extra salt/pepper. Our favourite spice for this is something called Sambar powder (777 brand is good) from the Indian section of the grocery store. Cover for a few minutes on low heat for the flavours of the herb/spices/browning of the vegetables to blossom and to merge.
This is a great dish to prepare as a healthy snack or as a side dish. It is the sort of dish that is great for preparing when you are on your own or for kids.... they love it.... I think they don't think of it as vegetables because it is not served the way they are used to seeing vegetables.... so simple and healthy. Best when eaten fresh from the stove..... people just seem to want to pick at it in our house. I find I rarely serve it as part of a meal.
I also have another way of doing the potatoes. Cut them in half; do the same with apples and add them together to a roasted chicken (duck/goose) to the oven (375F). Then add a little water, crushed/minced garlic, marjoram and salt/pepper to taste.
Baste it once every 30 minutes or so...
http://www.demarleusa.com/product/silpat/silpat.htm
I just wanted to thank you for posting this receipe up. It was the first thing I've cooked on my own, and everything came out great! Thanks again.
-Cindy
Everybody freaks when you roast at 500, but it makes a difference.
Even better, get a fresh whole chicken. Add two tablespoons of butter to the cavity, a few lemon wedges and salt and pepper. Do your potatoes and arrange around the chicken in a roasting pan (preferably with two inch high sides). Add 6 cloves of garlic, unpeeled.
Roast at 500 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, use a spoon or spatula to move the chicken around to prevent sticking. Turn the potatoes.
Roast for another 35-45 minutes at 500, turning the potatoes every 15 mintues.
The potatoes roast in the rendered chicken fat. Not diet food, but I've never had a potato go uneaten.
I am going to give it a try. There are several variations in the comments that sound very good.
Thanks,
Vince
San Jose, CA
basically, we're talking roasted potatoes. "mechanically" the oil protects the surfaces of the chunks so they don't get dry & leather-like.
how to "flavor up" the potatoes is the next specific of the OP - toss in garlic & allow the heat to 'cook out' any raw garlic taste.
extra virgin, infused oils, herbs of pretty much any kind, etc. - all those variants simply boost the flavor of the dish in one direction or another. there is a marked difference between rosemary and parsley 'flavor' - which way to go is up to the cook and influenced by what else is being served.
the major trick is mastering the art/technique of getting the potato cooked and crisp. undercooked = raw potato, not so good.... overcooked = mush or burnt or dried out, again, not the best aspiration.
basically I'd say "have it your way!"
it's similar to the roasting temps - I don't disagree that high temp roasting adds a bit of vegetable caramelization, which is tasty - the danger is,,,, don't walk away - high temps = less time tolerance which can = fast disasters.
if it's all quiet / leisurely in the kitchen, I'm on it. if I've got a holiday crowd houseful with thousands of things that need precise time attention, I'm prone to temps lower&slower - more time to recovery from those "ACKK!" moments. one can always crank up the temp on a slowpoke dish - but I've learned than too late turning down the temp does not make the charcoal dissolve . . .