Nothing Says Love, Like Garlic and Spuds: Roasted Garlic Potatoes. 52 WOC#7–The Theme is Love!

*A rather somber intro, but don’t worry, it gets better.

Ah, Singles Awareness Day aka SAD. I honestly do not hate or even dislike Valentine’s day. It’s just another day. Actually maybe that’s even worse, it’s worse to be ignored than hated. Well, I don’t ignore it either, I am aware of it, but like so many other single people who have grown jaded towards holidays in general, it’s just another day.

So perhaps this muted sense of apathy suits the rather rather humdrum nature of my chosen ingredient, the potato.

Actually, a pox on this humdrum mood. The theme is love, not Valentine’s day, and love comes in many shapes, sizes, and degrees of magnitude. Just like potatoes (Actually, does that metaphor even work? If you love me, you’ll humor me.)

 

To me, this roasted potato dish really does embody love of family, and how it should relationships, at their ideal should be. It is a simple and easy dish that anyone can make right so long as they give it the necessary care and attention, affordable, can be changed to adapt to different situations, and good quality eating.

Ok maybe good quality eating isn’t how I would describe love, but I hope you see what I’m getting at here. That and I make this recipe for my family fairly often for our small special occasions, and my brother in particular likes it a whole lot. And I actually made this last night for Valentine’s Day for my parents. Ok enough with the sap, now for the recipe, thanks for bearing with me.

The recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s Garlic Roasted Potatoes, and I’ve been making it for years. I’m pretty surprised I haven’t posted it yet.

You can assemble this ahead of time, the oil will keep the potatoes from browning. Just remember you’ll want to preheat the oven to 400 F before you put the potatoes in, and it will take about an hour once cooking starts.

Pull together enough red potatoes for dinner and maybe then some for leftovers. Ten medium sized potatoes is pretty good for a family of four. Wash well, trip off any bad parts and maybe peel off some of the more unattractive skin. Or just scrub them really well.

Cut into quarters.

Mince up a lot of garlic. I used four big cloves.

Toss the garlic in and then drizzle on enough olive oil (good quality but no need for virgin, pure will work) to coat the potatoes evenly.

Then add salt and pepper. For me I prefer a few shakes of pepper and a slightly generous half teaspoon of kosher salt. A good rule of thumb is to taste your finger after jostling up the mix of potatoes, oil and others. If the taste of the oil is pleasantly salty,  you’re golden.

As a bit of inspiration this time, I actually decided to add some shallots to the potatoes.

Peel.

Then mince. I actually really like this picture. Is it just me?

You can add a different things to the potatoes and it will work. Rosemary, parsley, and oregano come to mind.

Oh yeah, here’s where things get technical and overly fussy on my part. Don’t get distracted by the picture please.

By now you should have a preheated oven.

Grease the bottom of a large baking sheet or roasting pan.

Lay all the potatoes skin side/curvy part down first. This allows greater air exposure and dries out more of the outside of the potato faster, which makes thing easier later.

Roast for twenty minutes, then turn onto one of the cut sides.

Roast for twenty more, then turn onto the last side, and finish roasting for 15-20 more minutes.

And there you have it, some lovely roasted potatoes.

Serve with whatever you serve with roasted potatoes. Here, a rare filet mignon studded with garlic, and a simple green salad with a light soy sauce vinaigrette.

Roasted Garlic Potatoes adapted from Ina Garten:

• 10 Medium red potatoes, cleaned, slightly peeled, and quartered
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• Olive oil to coat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• optional: minced shallots, onion, parsley, oregano and/or other herbs

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Toss potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and optional ingredients if using.
3. Place potatoes curved side downward onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Roast in preheated oven for 20 minutes, flip potatoes onto cut side.
5. Roast additional twenty minutes (40 minutes elapsed) flip onto last side.
6. Roast for twenty more minutes (60 minutes elapsed) then plate and serve.