Deceptively easy to do, requiring only potatoes, oil and salt; the result here is a not-too-salty, creamy, roasted-slash-fried potato. I think this was inspired by small, whole, oven-roasted and salted potatoes. I wanted something in between oven-roasted and some kind of fried potatoes. To my mind they require no butter or sauce. The trick is to exercise patience and restraint; let the potatoes fry until you are sure they are near burning -- no peeking!
This recipe was featured on our new cook-along podcast Play Me a Recipe. Listen as Brinda Ayer cooks her way through this recipe, offering insider tips and backstory along the way.
Helpful tools for this recipe:
- Staub Enameled Cast Iron Skillet
- Five Two Wooden Spoons
- Five Two Essential Kitchen Knives
—Gretchen @ Backyardnotes
"Gretchen wasn’t kidding when she named her potato dish 'The Best Pan-Roasted Potatoes.' The dish is absurdly simple in terms of ingredients, but it’s the contrasting play of colors and textures that make it worthy of a community pick. The step of keeping the wedges stuck together while the spuds fry results in a striking contrast of light and dark surfaces. One bite through a wedge leaves a delightful confusion on your palate, simultaneously chip-like in crunchiness and mashed potato-like in fluffiness, all in one bite. The flavor of the potatoes shines through in the absence of potentially overwhelming spices, but feel free to indulge yourself with a dash of your favorite seasonings." —Panfusine
"I have long documented in this space my antipathy for side dishes, and my family has learned to accept a constant round of broccoli, green beans, and yeah, I’ll say it, sweet potato fries straight from the freezer bag.
But sides got a whole new lease on life chez moi with The Best Pan Roasted Potatoes. The best thing here is the reminder to work with waxy potatoes, which really do make a difference in these pan roasted dishes. Yes, you do need patience, and that may not seem like a weeknight virtue—but while these are doing their thing for 12 minutes or so you can be chopping, stirring, or doing whatever else you need to do to get dinner on the table.
Alternatively, you can ask your teenager about her boyfriend, her math homework, or the boyfriend who isn’t really her boyfriend, she says. That took 12 minutes! Okay, it took three. So now go ask another kid why their room looks like a Superfund site. Okay now you can check your potatoes.
Brown! Spitting oil a little! Be careful. Once covered watch them carefully. Mine took 20 minutes to achieve that delicious sort of salty yield between the teeth. Eat on." —Jestei
—The Editors
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