Simple recipe

Roasting any vegetable brings out its natural sweetness. There are many different ways to roast potatoes – some healthier than others. Many recipes have you peel the potato and cut it into chunks and par-boil them first, and then roast them in the oven.

Roast Potatoes with Boneless Leg of Lamb

My Mom used to roast peeled potatoes in the bottom of the pan when she was making a pork roast. The drippings made them really crispy and tasty.

Today, I’m taking a few short cuts – I’m going to cut my washed and unpeeled potatoes into wedges, coat them with oil and spices and roast them in a hot oven until they are really crispy.

Depending on where you are from, these potatoes may be called cottage fries or potato wedges.

The picture below shows the ingredients you need to assemble:

You’ll need:

6 Medium Potatoes ( about 2 lbs.)

4 Tablespoons of Olive oil

2 teaspoons of Dried Rosemary (optional)

1 Tablespoon of Salt

1 teaspoon of Pepper and

A sprinkle of Garlic powder and Onion powder (which are both optional)

The equipment you’ll need is:

A Cutting board

A Knife

A Plastic bag

A Vegetable Brush and

A Baking sheet with sides

Position your oven rack is in lower third of the oven. Do this before you pre-heat the oven.

You need to go and preheat the oven to 425 F. (220 C., Gas Mark 7) degrees.

425 degrees is a hot oven, so be careful! It will take about 20 minutes to preheat your oven to this temperature.

Many ovens have several different setting like “bake” or “broil” or “preheat” or “self clean” (if you are lucky!) to name just a few. For roasting potatoes be sure the cooking mode is set for “bake”.

I am not going to peel the potatoes, as the skin will add a really nice texture to the roasted potato.

Wash the potatoes under running water either with a vegetable brush or by rubbing the potatoes vigorously with your hands. Remember….soap is never used to wash fruit or veggies!

Then dry them with a paper towel.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then into narrow wedges about 1 inch thick. Try to cut them all the same size so that they’ll cook evenly.

Stick all the cut potatoes into a clean plastic bag. I like to use the zip-lock bags to seal them tight.

Now add the spices to the bag.

Pour the olive oil over the potatoes.

Add the dried rosemary to the bag.

Add the salt and pepper.

Add a sprinkle of garlic or onion powder if you like.

Close the bag and gently squish everything together with your hands.

Empty the bag of potatoes onto the baking sheet.

(Always use a baking sheet with sides for roasting vegetables.)

Place the baking sheet in the oven.

Roast the potatoes for about 20 minutes. Then turn them over using a spatula or a pair of tongs.

Roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, depending how browned and crispy you like them. Sometimes I leave them in the oven even longer. Watch it though. There’s a fine line between really crispy and burnt.

They will be very hot! Tempting as they look, let them cool a few minutes before biting into them!

They are fabulous as is, but you could dunk them in sour cream or ketchup. You decide!

Enjoy!

Roasted Potatoes Ingredients:

(4-6 Servings)

• 6 medium potatoes (about 2 lbs.)
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of onion powder

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