I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver’s cooking. I love his passion for ingredients and for cooking at home. We have a tradition in our family of watching cooking shows as the holidays approach. It gets us inspired, gives us new ideas and makes us hungry 🙂 This year I bought a few of Jamie Oliver’s Christmas episodes- SO good! I wanted to make everything! One of the recipes he makes in several episodes are crispy potatoes. Traditionally we have mashed potatoes at our holiday meal but since my Dad is a diabetic we try not to have them too often- the temptation is too strong. I have a recipe for some mashed potatoes that aren’t as hard on the blood sugar. It is an adaption of this one from ohsheglows and I will be sharing it soon. In the meantime. I thought it would be fun to do something a little simpler that would give us the option of yummy potatoes that are dairy free, and could have a sweet potato counterpart. That led me to tweak Jamie’s potato recipe and the result was this delicious side dish!
I used a large Russet baking potato and cut it into large chunks but a smaller Yukon would be a better option. The ones in the picture needed a little longer cook time and a little bit more roughing up but I liked the picture the best. My husband declared these the “best potatoes I have ever made” and that is saying something because he LOVES mashed potatoes. If you make these for your holiday meal, be sure and have them with some delicious gravy. You won’t even miss the mashed variety.
Easy Crispy Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks
- 2 baking potatoes peeled and chopped into large chunks *See Note
- 5 TBS melted ghee or fat of choice during the holidays, you can use the fat drained from your turkey
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 springs fresh rosemary
Instructions
-
Parboil potatoes (use two different pots if making sweet and white potatoes) for about 15 minutes or until soft when a knife is inserted. You do not want them mushy but you want them to be cooked through. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
-
Place your melted ghee, garlic and rosemary in the bottom of a large baking dish (9x11 or bigger). Put the baking dish in the oven for 3 minutes to let the garlic and herbs become aromatic. When the potatoes are boiled, one batch at a time (unless you have two colanders) drain in a colander and allow to steam dry for 1-2 minutes. Carefully, toss the potatoes in the colander creating a rough texture on the sides. These will be the best crispy parts of the cooked potato at the end! Put roughened potatoes in your baking dish and stir to coat in ghee. Salt and pepper to taste, you can always add more if needed. Cook on 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
-
After 30 minutes, remove from the oven, turn the potatoes and carefully smash each one lightly to allow them to spread a little so they can get even crispier. You are not fully mashing them, just lightly pressing. Place back in the oven for 20-25 minutes, keeping watch to make sure they don't burn. When they are beautifully crispy, pull them out of the oven, add salt if needed and serve.
Recipe Notes
*Note - you can use a Russet and chop it into large chunks but I find the best results with a smaller potato like a Yukon. I don't find new potatoes to be as good as the more starchy varieties.
