Rosemary & Garlic Roast Potatoes
Properly roasted, potatoes produce a crisp and brown crust surrounding a creamy interior. The trick is to cover them during the first part of the cooking, so that the steam cooks the potatoes all the way through, then uncover them so they can acquire a rich brown crust. The garlic and rosemary are added after the potatoes have cooked, rather than before they go into the oven — cooking so long at such a high temperature gives the seasonings an unpleasant bitter taste.
If you’re making the potatoes to accompany duck confit, the classic method of cooking them is to use the extra duck fat…
— Serves 4
*Items marked in green are available from The Gourmet Corner.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs low-starch potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or Red Bliss, scrubbed
- 3 Tbs olive oil or duck fat
- La Baliene sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 2 Tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 425F.
Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch wedges (or halve them if they are the small “new potato” type). Place the wedges in a large bowl.
If using duck fat to roast the potatoes, put it in an oven-safe bowl and place in the oven a few minutes to become liquid. Drizzle the olive oil or duck fat over the potatoes and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then toss again.
Place potatoes cut-side down in a single layer in a roasting pan or rimmed baking tray. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Roast potatoes 20 minutes. Remove foil and roast ~15 more minutes until the side of the potato touching the pan is browned.
While the potatoes are cooking, make a paste of the garlic. Put the garlic paste in a large, heat-safe bowl and mix the rosemary into it.
Remove potatoes from oven and carefully use a thin metal spatula to loosen any that have stuck to the pan. Turn each potato wedge so a different side is against the pan, then put them back into the oven for another 5-10 minutes until the sides touching the metal are nicely browned.
Remove potatoes from oven and again carefully use a thin metal spatula to loosen any that have stuck to the pan. Gently transfer the potatoes into the bowl containing the garlic and rosemary. Toss well to distribute the seasonings, then serve.
