Crispy Herb Roasted Potatoes

There are big rosemary bushes at many of the parks in our city. Milo and Sophie do a lot of exploring and “building a garden” at the park, so sometimes we get home and they smell like fresh rosemary and sunshine. There have been plenty of days where that fresh sunshine-and-rosemary smell has actually inspired my dinner decisions.

I’m a huge fan of fresh rosemary. A little goes a long way, but the flavor is hard to beat. It’s hardy and can last up to 2 weeks in the fridge properly stored, which means if my dinner plans get bumped, I don’t have to worry about it like I do with something more delicate, like fresh basil. I love adding it to my favorite Slow Cooker Beef Stew, tossing it with cinnamon on sweet potatoes, or stirring it into chicken pot pie soup. One of my favorite applications, though, is on herb crusted potatoes. The whole house smells incredible as they bake, and they feel so perfectly satisfying with their salty, herby crispy crunch and the buttery, fluffy insides that Yukon Gold potatoes lend.

You can serve these herb roasted potatoes with just about anything–a nice roast, chicken apple sausages, or scrambled eggs are some of my favorites. Leftovers (if there are any!) can be tossed into a frittata the next day. They’re just as at home on the table for a Tuesday night as they are for a holiday meal.

A few tricks for extra amazing potatoes:

• Go light. I’ve found that my potatoes roast most evenly on a lighter colored baking sheet. I have a set of commercial-grade ones (called half sheet pans) and they’re basically indestructible.
• Don’t crowd the pan. Potatoes shouldn’t overlap (or they won’t crisp). If you need to use 2 baking sheets, the end result will be worth the extra 2 minutes of dish washing you’ll need to do later.
• Be generous. You’ll also want to be generous with olive oil to prevent sticking, promote even browning, and help all those lovely herbs and spices stick to the potatoes. These never feel greasy to me, so I’m not afraid of a little olive oil.
• Stir, stir, stir. Another way promote even browning is to stir regularly. I recommend every 8-10 minutes.

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