Cooking corner: rapid roasted potatoes

By COLEMAN CLARK

I have never met a potato I didn’t like.  I love potatoes so much they constitute three of my five food groups.  Mashed or fried, crispy or creamy, any way you serve them, they are delicious.

The potato is a staple in American cuisine, especially during summer.  Just think of the potato chips and potato salad lining the tables at every cookout and Fourth of July barbecue.

With every invitation to such an event, I am also asked to bring something: a dish, drinks, plates or napkins.  When did my smile and winning personality stop being enough for these people?

When I find myself in such a situation, I turn to my old friend the potato.  I’m not a fan of potato salad, and someone else will undoubtedly bring chips, so I spice up the selection at the picnic table with my rapid roasted potatoes.

These rapid roasted potatoes require minimal effort, but they yield delicious results.

Rapid Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Rosemary Infused Oil (Recipe Follows)
3 lbs potatoes (Yukon Gold or Baby Red suggested)
5-6 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Wash and scrub potatoes to remove dirt.  Dice potatoes into about 1-inch cubes; you don’t have to be precise, but they should be bite-sized and fairly uniform to ensure even cooking time.

Next, separate five to six cloves of garlic from the head and give each a quick smash. There’s no need to remove the skin entirely when doing this.

In a large bowl, toss potatoes and garlic with the rosemary infused oil.  Then spread out potatoes and garlic in a single layer on a large baking sheet.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast potatoes for approximately one hour, flipping potatoes with a metal spatula every 20 minutes.  Garnish with any leftover rosemary if desired.

Rosemary Infused Oil

Ingredients:
1 cup canola oil
5 sprigs Rosemary
3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, add oil, garlic, onion and rosemary.  Cook five to 10 minutes, making sure no ingredients begin to burn.

Remove saucepan from heat and allow to cool.  Once the oil has cooled, remove rosemary, garlic and onion.