Sides & Vegetables · American

Roasted Potatoes

Name: Roasted Potatoes
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 lb potato, Yukon Gold or russet (peeled, cut in 2-inch chunks); 2 l water; 1 tbsp salt; ½ tsp baking soda; 3 tbsp olive oil; ½ tsp black pepper (ground)

6 ingredients · 70 minutes · 2 servings

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442kcal6.9g protein20.6g fat59.9g carbs~$1.02/ serving*

Vegetarian · without oneVegan · without onePescatarian · without oneNo pork · without oneNo alcohol

Ingredients

Servings:

2 lb	potato, Yukon Gold or russet (peeled, cut in 2-inch chunks)
2 l	water
1 tbsp	salt
½ tsp	baking soda
3 tbsp	olive oil
½ tsp	black pepper (ground)
4 clove	garlic (smashed, skin on)optional
2 sprig	rosemary (chopped)optional
3 sprig	thymeoptional
3 tbsp	lard or beef fat (in place of the oil)optional
2 tbsp	parsley (chopped)optional

Method

boil10 min
hard boil, 425°F oven preheating with the empty pan inside
potato chunks + water + salt + baking soda, from cold water, until a knife slides in with almost no resistance but the pieces still hold — the alkaline water dissolves pectin at the surface only, building a thin starch paste that is the future crust; too far and the chunks collapse into the colander
rest4 min
drained, in the hot dry pot, uncovered
drain hard and let the residual heat flash off the surface water. Wet potatoes steam instead of frying, and steam is what makes them beige
mix1 min
off heat, vigorous
+ olive oil + black pepper, shaking the pot roughly so the edges abrade into a rough starchy slurry. Those raw scuffed surfaces are what shatter later; smooth-sided potatoes stay smooth
roast30 min
425°F, single layer, cut faces down on the preheated pan
potatoes on the screaming-hot pan, spaced so each piece touches metal — contact with hot steel does the browning, air does almost none, and any piece leaning on another has traded its crust for a soft patch
roast20 min
425°F, turned once
flip each piece and add garlic + rosemary now if using, not earlier — 50 minutes of dry oven heat turns garlic bitter and rosemary to ash. Pull when the outsides rasp against the spatula
season1 min
straight from the oven
+ salt to taste while the fat is still liquid so it clings, then serve immediately; held in a covered dish they steam themselves soft within ten minutes