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Herb Roasted Potatoes

I’ve been meaning to post these Herb Roasted Potatoes for a long time.

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Herb Roasted Potatoes are one of my go to “recipes.” They are one of the easiest and tastiest ways to make potatoes. I put quotes around “recipe” because this isn’t much of a recipe. And isn’t that a good thing? That means no long list of ingredients, no long preparation process.

I use tiny potatoes so there’s no potato cutting involved and, because they’re so small, they cook much faster than larger potatoes.

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I had friends over for dinner awhile back and these potatoes were a hit with my friend, who is not the cook in her family. She asked me where I got the potatoes and how I made them. She commented to her husband (the cook) that he should make them. Of course, her husband jumped in to remind her that he has made these potatoes for her before…more than once. I figure it was a win win win situation. I was enjoying the accolades, her husband confirmed that it wouldn’t be the last time she had them, and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner together.

Herb Roasted Potatoes

There’s a store near us that sells large bags of teeny tiny potatoes. They are my favorite ones to use. They are like a big bag of marble sized tots. I happened to be at the other end of town at another store that also sells tiny potatoes, so I bought those instead. Some look a little more like fingerlings, but they are still quite small, so they work just fine.

All it takes for prep on the potatoes is a quick wash and dry. You definitely want to make sure you really dry them because any excess water is simply going to add steam to the cooking process and we want to roast. Roasting will give us lightly crispy skin (which I love) and that roasted potato flavor that is out of this world.

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The herb flavor is up to you. I most often make rosemary roasted potatoes, but I happened to have a bunch of fresh thyme from another recipe and I wanted to take advantage of having it on hand. You can use one herb or a mixture of your favorites. I always use fresh herbs, but you can definitely use dried, if that’s what you have.

Dried herbs have a stronger flavor than fresh, so if you do decide to use dried, only use 1/3 of the amount. If you would normally use a tablespoon of fresh, use a teaspoon of dried.

I don’t measure anything, but I will provide estimates in the recipe below. I simply throw the clean, dry potatoes onto a foil lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper then add my chopped up fresh herbs. I toss them to evenly distribute the oil, herbs and seasoning then into the oven they go.

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As they near the end of their cooking time, you will hear them quietly whistling in the oven as the air struggles to escape the tiny potato skins. When you bite into them, they pop a little bit. And yes, we have had a few contests at the dinner table to see whose potato pop is the loudest, all the while reminding my kids that it’s totally cool to do this at home but please remember that we don’t do this in a restaurant. #momsrules

For me, these Herb Roasted Potatoes are also a healthy sub for tater tots. They’re a whole food, they are not processed and have less fat and less salt. They’re easy to make and easy to eat. And… they “pop!”

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That’s certainly worth some bonus points.

Herb Roasted Potatoes. Tiny potatoes roast up quickly and full of flavor with fresh herbs. They get a little crispy and pop when you bite into them!

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds tiny potatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or other fresh herb
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Wash potatoes and dry thoroughly.
  3. Spread potatoes out on a baking sheet. I line mine with foil for easy clean up, but it's not necessary.
  4. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and toss to coat the potatoes and to insure the oil has also covered the baking sheet to prevent sticking. Or, you could lightly spray the sheet with cooking spray before you toss the potatoes with the oil.
  5. Sprinkle chopped herbs, salt and pepper over all and toss lightly to distribute.
  6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and skins beginning to crisp. I like the bottoms to get a nice deep golden brown. (I shake the pan about 1/2 way through the cooking time to "flip" the potatoes to another side.)
  7. Once they're done, if there's any residual oil, herbs and salt on the sheet, I like to give the pan another shake so they get a chance to roll around and pick up more of that flavor. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve.

Notes

*If you use dried herbs, use about 2 teaspoons instead of 2 Tablespoons.

*I find these potatoes can take a fair amount of salt. I listed a half teaspoon of kosher salt, but I probably use more like a full teaspoon. Remember that you need less of table salt than kosher salt. Don't over season at the beginning. You can always add more at the table.

*Cooking times will vary with the size of your potatoes. Just use a fork to check for tenderness and your eyes to check for that nice roasted color. I probably could have left mine in a few more minutes to get some deeper edges, but you want to be careful not to roast them too long or they will dry out.

*This is the most basic version of this recipe. I often add other ingredients like garlic, lemon, onions, leeks... etc., to coordinate best with whatever main dish I am serving. When using garlic, I like to keep the cloves whole so that they don't burn and to impart a slightly milder garlic flavor. Then I make sure they get tossed again in the serving dish so that the garlic cloves get a chance to mingle with all of the potatoes. When I use onions, I try to cut them about the same size as the potatoes.

The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2016

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Lindsey | Lou Lou Biscuit

Saturday 16th of January 2016

Recipes that require little thought are the best! I can imagine that using teeny whole potatoes would mean a lot of tasty crispy skin! Thanks for the idea!

Ramona

Saturday 16th of January 2016

The easy "recipes" that are also delicious are the ones we seem to make the most often, aren't they? A simple way to prepare good food is always worth a lot to me!

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