Roasted New Potatoes

This week I'm sharing recipes inspired by my trip to the winter farmer's market in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

When I'm cooking a roast, and I want an easy side dish, roasted new potatoes are what I make. This recipe can be explained in one sentence: Put the potatoes in a baking dish, toss with oil, salt and pepper, then cook for one hour.
*This is another of my "so simple it is barely a recipe" recipes. I'm a fan of side dishes that take little effort or attention.

Don't be fooled by how easy this recipe is. The results taste fabulous. You get bite-sized potatoes that are salty and a little crisp on the outside, and deliciously creamy on the inside.

Recipe: Roasted New Potatoes

Equipment:

• 13 x 9 baking dish (I like a simple pyrex baking dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pounds new potatoes (or fingerling potatoes), no more than 2" in diameter.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Prepare the Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400*F. Clean the potatoes, dry them, then put them in the baking dish. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes, then sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Toss until the potatoes are well coated with oil, salt and pepper.

2. Cook the potatoes: Put the baking dish in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour. You want the potatoes to be slightly crisp on the outside, and a paring knife or fork should or until the potatoes are slightly crisp on the outside, and a knife can be inserted into the biggest potato with no resistance.

Notes:
*The longer you can cook the potatoes, the better. It's hard to overcook them. I try to let them go for a full hour before I take them out of the oven; I only test them for doneness if some of the potates are particularly large.

*The oven temperature can vary on this recipe as well - I've done it as high as 500*F, and as low as 325*F. If you are cooking it with a roast, use whatever the appropriate temperature for the roast is; the potatoes will turn out OK. You get the best results at 400*F, plus or minus 50 degrees; above or below that I would adjust the cooking time and check to make sure the potatoes cook properly.

*Don't skimp on the salt - you won't be seasoning the inside of the potatoes, so the coating of salt on the outside is all that you have to flavor them.

*Don't crowd the pan. You want a little space between the potatoes to help them cook evenly. 1 ½ pounds of new potatoes fits perfectly in my 13 x 9 inch baking dish. If you are cooking for a crowd, and want to cook more potatoes, go with a rimmed sheet pan (I love my restaurant supply store half-sheet pans), which can hold 3 pounds of potatoes.

*Potatoes from your winter farmer's market are the best option for this recipe. But, this recipe works fine with a bag of new potatoes from the grocery store. I have a slight preference for redskin potatoes, with fingerling potatoes (like in the pictures) as my second choice.
*The fingerlings looked great at the market, so I couldn't pass them up.

What do you think? Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Related Posts:
Winter Farmer's Market in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Swiss Chard Saute
Grated Carrot Salad

Inspired by:
Amanda Hesser - Cooking for Mr. Latte

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