When I order hash-brown potatoes in a restaurant, I always ask that they are “mixed and crispy” — the darker brown they are the better. I assume my Dave took that to heart when he created this new dish. These potatoes are remarkable: almost like they’ve been oh-so-lightly coated in a subtle breadcrumb coating (but they’re not). Very savory, a bit crunchy, and no matter how full your plate is, you will wish you had more.
Ingredients
- Potatoes, Yukon Gold
- Oil
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Pepper
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Sage
- Marjoram
- Parsley
- Vegetables (optional, e.g., mushrooms, green beans, peppers, carrots, etc.)
Directions
To make regular roasted potatoes, cut up some potatoes, coat with oil and salt, roast in an oven until tasty: all done. You make Dave’s Rosemary-infused Roasted Potatoes the same way, but with extra attention paid to the following points:
1. With Yukon Gold potatoes, you can peel the potatoes or not — they’re delicious either way. Tip: If you peel them at all, do it roughly, leaving bits of skin on.
2. Parboil the potato pieces by adding them to already-boiling water with salt and half a teaspoon of baking soda per quart of water. This breaks down the outer surfaces of the potatoes, resulting in a crunchier surface after roasting. Parboil until only half-cooked.
3. Infuse some high-temperature oil (e.g., avocado oil, peanut oil, etc.) with the herbs and garlic (this avoids burning them during roasting). Strain the oil, separating the oil from the solid matter. Toss the potatoes in the oil, roughing them up to create a starchy slurry on the potato pieces — this is what makes them crunchy in the oven. Add the saved herbs, parsley, or additional herbs to the potatoes near the end of the roasting process.
4. Roast at 450 degrees, turning the pieces every 15 minutes or so until deep brown on all sides. Optionally add some roughly-cut vegetables to the roasting pan midway in the roasting process to make a complete entrée.
