Have a mentioned before that my husband and I are high school sweethearts? The first year we were dating was my junior year and his senior year. Every year Ely’s seniors take a trip to Washington D.C. that typically falls over spring break. The year of my husband’s senior year spring break and DC trip fell the week leading up to Easter and my family was supposed to go down to North Carolina to see my Aunt and Uncle that year. The timing of these trips meant that we wouldn’t see each other in over a week – a lifetime for a teenager. So I somehow convinced my parents (who I’m sure saw RIGHT through my argument) that I needed to help prepare and print our family paper and then I could fly down on Thursday morning and meet them. This gave me one day over spring break to see my husband.
So how does that story fit into Rosemary Potatoes? Well, down in North Carolina as we were preparing Easter dinner, my Uncle took my sister and my dad over to the neighbor’s yard and start snipping herbs off this shrub in their yard. They sprinkled this herb over some buttered potatoes and voila – Rosemary Potatoes.
This became one of my family’s new favorite side dishes after we returned. My mom even still has a rosemary plant growing on her counter (it’s too cold in MN to grow them outside year round) that has grown itself into and through the screen of her kitchen window.
I’ve since taken this basic method and started changing up the spices, adding parmesan cheese, using olive oil in an effort to be healthier, and just generally experimenting. What I want to show you today though is just the original, basic method we learned down in North Carolina that Easter weekend.
Here’s what you need:
Yep – just potatoes, rosemary and butter (ok, you could sprinkle with some kosher salt too). Fresh rosemary would be my preference but I don’t have the green thumb my mom does and have killed multiple indoor rosemary plants – so the only time I get fresh rosemary is in the summer. This still tastes pretty great though.
Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Cut the red potatoes into wedges. I get about 6-8 wedges from each potato. Place the potatoes on the parchment and pour the melted butter right over the top.
Toss together with your hands to completely coat all potatoes with butter. Sprinkle on the rosemary (and kosher salt if you want) and toss again.
Arrange the potatoes on the tray so the skin side is down.
I should mention hear that I deviated ever so slightly from the original method. We used to use a 9×13 glass pan and arrange the wedges skin side down on the pan and then brush the butter on the potatoes. Well that meant washing a pan and tediously brushing each potato, hence the development of my new lazier method. It tastes the same either way so use whatever method calls to you – if you don’t want buttery hands maybe the brush is a better solution.
Bake for 20 minutes and give them a stir.
Bake for an additional 25 minutes until crispy and brown on the outside and tender on the inside.
If you are cooking something else in the oven at a different temperature just adjust the cooking time of the potatoes – roughly 35 minutes for 400 and increase to an hour or so for 350. The time will also vary slightly based on the size of your potato wedges.
You’ll love the crispy, crunchy outside and the tender inside of these potatoes. The butter and rosemary add just the right flavor. Like I said before though, feel free to experiment. Some of my favorite experiments:
Parmesan: Salt and pepper the potatoes and toss with olive oil or butter. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese (you know the kind in the green can) during the last 5-10 minutes.
Barbecue: Toss with your favorite barbeque spice such as Penzey’s Barbeque 3000 instead of rosemary.
Loaded: Season with salt and pepper and toss with butter. During the last 5 minutes sprinkle on crumbled bacon, scallions or chives, and cheddar cheese. Serve with sour cream.
Enjoy!
- 1 T butter, melted
- 8 baby red potatoes cut into wedges (6-8 per potato)
- Rosemary (fresh or dried)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place potatoes in a pile on baking sheet and pour melted butter over the top. Toss together with your hands. Crumble rosemary over the top and toss again. Arrange potatoes skin side down.
- Bake for approximately 45 minutes until the outsides are brown and crispy and the inside is tender. Stir once about halfway through.
- Serve.
Leave a Reply