I’ve never made these for anyone who hasn’t gone gaga. Even Bruce, for whom French fries are a necessary food group, loves these more than life itself (poor me!). And, if that’s not enough of a recommendation, note that these are about as low-cal as potatoes can get. Warning: I usually tell people who ask for the recipe, “You can’t use too much salt.” But, my friend Kim did.
(Note: I always make these with my Chicken-Sausage Bake, and just put the cookie sheet in the same oven on a lower rack, for the same amount of time. These are very flexible taters.)
(Second note: You could, of course, sprinkle with your favorite seasoning–say, rosemary or Parmesan–but I never do. Love ‘em as is.)
(Third note: In case you missed this in Tip of the Week….Renee suggests using DUCK FAT instead of olive oil—duck fat, she notes, is closer to olive oil than butter in its fat profile. And, be sure NOT to use a nonstick roasting pan if you want that lovely brown crispy exterior. Let there be duck-fat potatoes!)
1 potato per person, I use Idaho baking potatoes
Lots of kosher salt (must be kosher…nice big pieces of salt)
Small amount of olive oil
Very important: Wash potatoes in the a.m., or as many hours before dinner as you can–the drier they are…the crispier they’ll become. Right before you’re going to cook ‘em, cut into big-bite size pieces with maximum skin surface on each. Put on a cookie sheet in one layer and LIGHTLY sprinkle with olive oil, GENEROUSLY sprinkle with kosher salt and toss. Bake about one hour at 400 to 425 degrees.
In response to your tip of the week, I agree with Renee that goose or duck fat makes incredible roast potatoes. Another tip – parboil them for 5 minutes, drain and let them steam a bit in the colander to get rid of excess moisture then rattle them around in the pan with a tablespoon or two of polenta or cornmeal to fluff up the edges. Then put them in the roasting tin with your goose fat (which you’ve heated up in the oven for about 5 minutes so the potatoes sizzle when you put them in the pan) and bake. They are sooo delicious, with crisp, golden edges. Quite addictive. Dangerously addictive.
By: lickedspoon on April 20, 2009
at 3:03 am
How do you keep the potatoes from sticking to the pan? (I’m using olive oil.)
By: Sarah Thomas on February 19, 2012
at 6:53 pm
I use olive oil, too. I don’t use a non-stick pan (but if you’re worried you can do that), and I check them halfway through cooking. Usually they don’t stick, but if they do, I turn them.
By: Catherine on February 20, 2012
at 8:54 am
It’s easy to get them not to stick – you par-boil them first which removes all the starch and then drain the water off and pan-dry on top of stove to ensure they are totally dry. As suggested above a little flour/polenta or cornmeal added and shook around the pan adds to the crispiness in cooking. Add the parboiled potatoes seasoned with the flour into hot fat and roast …… so easy and so delicious, but parboiling is the secret to getting non-stick potatoes
By: Roisin Magee on June 19, 2012
at 5:24 am