I love roasting potatoes and mixed vegetables in the winter. For years, I’d specifically try to cut potatoes into sticks to mimic french fries in hoping that I would get somewhat the same level of crispiness from frying them. My issue though: it is always a challenge to get them equally cut, and then to cut them thin enough that they will be crispy, without being too thin that they will burn in the high-temperature roasting.  Recently however, I discovered that roasting the smaller potatoes actually gave me the crispy texture that I had desired without fiddling too much with using a mandolin for prepping them.

This recipe below is basically my favorite version of what I would call an ideal roasted potatoes. I love garlic, so I definitely add a good amount of it. Then a generous amount of salt and freshly ground pepper. Then just before serving, I toss some fresh parsley and grated parmesan to add a little freshness to the potatoes. Hmmm.. they are fantastic to go with anything really. And it only takes 30 minutes in the oven, score!

Ingredients
1-1/2 lbs baby potatoes (yellow dutch or fingerling), halved
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp Freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp of freshly grated parmesan

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 450 degree F.

Rinse potatoes and pat them dry with a paper towel. Cut them in halves, they should be approximately about no more than 1.5-2 inches in diameter. Pat them dry again to ensure they are pretty dry. Place them all in a large shallow bowl, toss them with olive oil, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast them for 30 minutes, toss them halfway through to ensure that all of the potatoes were browned and crisped evenly.

Transfer them into a serving platter, and quickly toss with fresh parsley and grated parmesan. Enjoy immediately.

Yield: 3-4 servings