According to a recipe and cookbook bySimona Mirto
Roasted potatoes are my favorite side dish from Italian cuisine.
They are economical, irresistible, and capable of transforming the simplest meal into a feast for the taste buds! Thanks to professional cooking classes, I learned how to prepare them perfectly: crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and through a very simple method, without pre-boiling! Follow my steps and you will always prepare them this way.
My love for roasted potatoes was born in the family: on Sundays they were never missing next to roast veal or spit-roasted chicken.
I still remember the scent that invaded the kitchen, while me and my sister were ready to steal a few directly from the tray! Over time, I experimented with different methods, but the result was never what I wanted: either too soft, or too dry, or processes too long.
The change came with the advice of a chef, which I am sharing with you today. This is a safe recipe: a step-by-step guide that will show you how to cut the potatoes, how to season them with garlic and rosemary for a fragrant flavor, and how to bake them just long enough to be golden brown, without boiling them beforehand. They are, in short, the best homemade roasted potatoes!
Recipe Details
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Cost: Low
Specific: Italian
Calories: 227 Kcal / 100g
Ingredients (for 4 people) 600 g potatoes (choose a baking variety)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Fresh rosemary
Salt
Black pepper (or a pepper mix)
Preparation method
2. Seasoning: Place the potatoes in a baking tray (preferably non-stick or lined with baking paper). Add 2 tablespoons of oil, the two garlic cloves "in their shirts" (with skin on, but cut slightly in the middle), freshly ground pepper, salt and rosemary (both finely chopped needles and a few whole sprigs).
Mix everything with your hands to make sure each piece of potato is well oiled and seasoned.
3. The trick for texture: Add 3 tablespoons of water to the tray. This little secret allows you to avoid separate boiling; the water will evaporate during baking, helping the inside of the potatoes to cook perfectly without affecting their crispy crust.
4. Baking:
Preheat oven to 200°C (static) or 180°C (fan-assisted). It needs to be very hot!
Bake on the middle rack for about 45 minutes. The liquid should be almost completely absorbed.
Remove the tray, check the doneness and turn the potatoes with a spatula (avoid using a fork to avoid crushing them). Drizzle them with the juice from the tray and add another 2 tablespoons of oil on top.
