So for Thanksgiving this year we decided to make roasted potatoes instead of mashed. That wasn’t a popular decision for our son Lucas (a huge Thanksgiving mashed potato fan) at least until he tried them. I am partial to very, very crunchy potatoes. And IF YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS, these ARE very, very crunchy (“crispy”). I repeat – FOLLOW the instructions.
By cooking them slightly longer than the original recipe says to, they were very crispy and very, very good. And they even tasted excellent re-heated in the ‘wave afterwards.
Chrissy's comments: Roasted potatoes usually don't stand a chance. I mean, if you had to choose between a French fry, a tater tot, a potato chip, and a sad little mushy roasted potato, what would you do? (Don’t worry, me too.). But John really loves them, so I was determined to make them good enough that I don’t pick up a magazine in the supermarket one day and read that he's left me for a nanny with a culinary degree and a specialty in spuds.
The secret is to preheat the oil in the baking sheet (get one with rims, people, or your oven will become one giant grease fire) so when the potatoes touch it they get a crispy contact high. DFWT!!! Don’t. F*ck. With. Them. Every time you stir them (which you will be tempted to do) you sacrifice some of those edges and crunchy bits. SO put the potatoes in the oven and then paint your nails or handcuff yourself or do something, anything, that will prevent you from messing up these salty, crunchy, golden-brown spuds.
Chrissy's comments: Roasted potatoes usually don't stand a chance. I mean, if you had to choose between a French fry, a tater tot, a potato chip, and a sad little mushy roasted potato, what would you do? (Don’t worry, me too.). But John really loves them, so I was determined to make them good enough that I don’t pick up a magazine in the supermarket one day and read that he's left me for a nanny with a culinary degree and a specialty in spuds.
The secret is to preheat the oil in the baking sheet (get one with rims, people, or your oven will become one giant grease fire) so when the potatoes touch it they get a crispy contact high. DFWT!!! Don’t. F*ck. With. Them. Every time you stir them (which you will be tempted to do) you sacrifice some of those edges and crunchy bits. SO put the potatoes in the oven and then paint your nails or handcuff yourself or do something, anything, that will prevent you from messing up these salty, crunchy, golden-brown spuds.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Pour 4 tablespoons of the oil onto a rimmed baking sheet and heat in the oven until very hot but not smoking, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss the remaining 1 tablespoon oil with the potatoes, onion, garlic, rosemary, and 1/l2 teaspoons each salt and pepper. Remove the baking sheet with the heated oil and immediately but carefully pour the potato mixture onto the sheet, spread out in a single layer, and return to the oven. Roast the potatoes until the undersides are crisped and the garlic begins to soften, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the baking sheet From the oven and flip the potatoes using a metal spatula (or, if you’re John, one by one with tongs). Return the potatoes to the oven and roast until the garlic is golden and softened and the potatoes are crisped but tender when poked with a Fork, 15 to 20 minutes longer.* Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
NOTE - see the asterisk in the instructions. I baked them an 20 mins, flipped them over, then I cooked them an extra 25 mins. I suppose this depends on how accurate the temps are in your oven. Our oven is horrible - if you set it to 350F, you might get 325, you might get 375, and in some rare occasions, it might wind up being what you set it to. So it takes a little monitoring...
