I never met a potato I didn’t like.
If you frequent Copywriters’ Kitchen you know I sneak spuds into all kinds of unlikely dishes—see my Two-Bit Black Bean Soup with Pan-Fried Potatoes, Two-Bit Navy Bean Soup with Pan-Fried Potatoes or Penne with Roasted Red Peppers and Pan-Fried Potatoes.
To carbophobes’ horror, I devour potatoes pan-fried, deep-fried, mashed, boiled with a full cup of salt and, of course, roasted.
Especially roasted.
The combination of hot, dry oven heat and flavored fat—meaty pan juices, oil, butter—transforms lowly tubers into a sybaritic sensation.
As a potato fetishist, I love finding unusual varieties, like locally grown red russets and New York fingerlings.
So when these purple potatoes showed up at Westchester Greenhouse I bought them immediately.
The potatoes in this recipe are tossed with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and plenty of freshly ground pepper. I cut the potatoes in quarters to maximize their flavor-soaking skin surface.
Gustatory payola comes when you bite into a roasted wedge: The slightly tough olive oil-baked skin gives way to a steamy, starchy pulp.
Don’t wait for company to serve this elegant, fast side dish
Roasted potatoes are divine nestled and slow-baked beside a succulent, pastured chicken or grassfed roast beef.
But they’re also great with a cheeseburger. And they’re so easy to make you’ll want to serve them on weekdays as a side dish.
Or, in my case, a main course.
P.S. It goes without saying you may make this recipe with any kind of potatoes.
Rosemary Roasted Purple Potatoes
5-6 medium-sized purple or other potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Scrub the potatoes well. Dry and quarter them as shown above.
- Place potatoes in baking pan to form a single layer.
- Drizzle olive oil over potatoes, sprinkle with crushed garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss potatoes to coat with oil and spices.
- Cover pan with foil and slide into oven.
- Bake potatoes for 15 minutes.
- Slide pan from oven and remove foil. Using a spatula, turn potatoes over.
- Return pan to oven without foil and roast potatoes another 15 minutes.
- Slide potatoes from oven, turn them one more time and continue roasting another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Serves 6.
I make roasted potatoes like these all the time but add 1/2 cup dijon mustard. YUMMY!!
Yum, Daphne–will try!
I used this recipe last night and it turned out wonderful. I had never cooked purple potatoes before. I did use fresh rosemary rather than dried, but that was just a matter of what was in my kitchen. When ever I’ve roasted potatoes I have just thrown them in the oven and not covered them at any point, but I really liked how these turned out and I think a lot of their texture was due to that first 15 min where they cook covered. Thanks for sharing!
@Kaitlin: I’m glad the recipe worked well for you. Fresh rosemary could only improve the herb, olive oil and spud flavor notes of this dish. I’m glad we just planted a wee rosemary bush in the Copywriters’ Kitchen herb garden. : >
I’m making this for a second time tonight with the potatoes that I’ve been getting from my CSA. I used purple the first time and they were excellent, tonight I’m using gold potatoes and they smell amazing! I was out of rosemary in my herb garden, so I’ve used thyme both times and it tastes amazing! Thanks for the great/easy recipe!
@Holly: Mmm. I love fresh thyme. Your variation with gold potatoes sounds delish.
In addition to being delicious the Peruvian purple potatoes have phytonutrients that can help reduce blood pressure without adding extra weight gain calories.
Always looking for “gustatory payola!” Great recipe and blog.
Hehe! Thanks for kind words.
I grew up in a country where potatoes are a mainstay (no not Ireland) and when I first discovered these purple potatoes I have been in love. I also found out they are good for you if you have hypertension or high blood pleasure. I will try your recipe tonight with grilled steaks and orange cauliflower. Should be a colorful meal.
Your meal plans sound delish! Hope the potatoes turned out well.
Great recipe!