Roasted Rosemary Red Potatoes

I wish I could remember who the friend was who told me about this recipe.  I'd send them a bouquet of flowers!  Connie's not much of a potato eater thanks to a childhood of boiled potatoes.  Needless to say he cringes whenever I say potatoes are on the menu for the next week.  So, I faced the certain long face when I first fixed this for him.  But, once he tasted these guys, he got a big old grin on his face.
Cooking these potatoes low and slow caramelizes the sugar so they taste slightly sweet along with the salty and the heady rosemary.  They're good if they're cooked more quickly but they're best when you baby them along for a couple of hours.


We had these with the Crab Cakes Benedict at our Mardi Gras party for Foodbuzz 24x24.  Actually, we have these about once a quarter.  They're the reason we tote three huge pots of rosemary into Connie's south-facing office for the winter.

Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

olive oil
sprigs of rosemary
red potatoes
salt (I use a salt grinder and use coarse salt)

Lightly coat the bottom of your skillet with olive oil.  You may have to add more later.  Preferably, choose a skillet that's large enough so your potatoes can cook in one layer.  I had to cook more for the party and didn't have the space to have another skillet going or I'd have divided them up between two.  Cover the bottom of the skillet with rosemary sprigs.

Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size.  You want bite-sized pieces.

Cook on medium heat.  Resist the temptation to stir the potatoes regularly.  They're much better if you let one side get nice and brown before you mess with them!  These will take a couple of hours to cook properly.  During that time you'll maybe want to stir them three or four times. 

Here's a photo from another time I made these potatoes: