Cole’s Crispy Crunchy Roasted Potatoes

Recipe First –

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of Idaho/Russet potatoes (peeled or unpeeled it doesn’t matter, dealers choice)
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• Half a head of garlic
• 1.5 Tablespoons red chili pepper
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Small dice the potatoes and rinse until water runs clear/dry
2. Preheat oven to convection bake 425 F
3. Warm olive oil in a saucepan
4. Add minced garlic and red chili pepper to the oil to steep for 10-15 minutes (only heat oil until warm you should be able to touch with your hand and not burn)
5. In a large mixing bowl combine potatoes and the oil/garlic/pepper mixture and coat evenly
6. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper
7. Salt and pepper and put in the oven
8. Potatoes ready when they are brown, crispy, and delicious (around 40 minutes)
9. Serve with ketchup and franks

The above recipe is my own, so if the directions suck I apologize.

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I have been making this recipe for the last 5+ years. It is extremely simple to make and has a large margin for error. Served with roast chicken, steak, or any other time you would eat potatoes. You will not be disappointed.

When steeping the garlic and red chili flakes make sure not to make it too hot! If you overheat the oil you will fry the garlic; this is a traditional Thai garnish that I would highly recommend in other contexts.

Liberally salt and pepper the potatoes, they always need more seasoning than you think. Pour the oil mixture over the potatoes just enough to coat them. If there’s left over oil, save it for another recipe!

Try and spread them out as much as possible; I usually use two baking sheets. If they are too close together they will steam when releasing moisture instead or roasting to a delicious crispy brown colour.

Mix once or twice over the cooking time – the more uniform your cutting the better. In the past I had some very small pieces and larger ones and it causes them to cook at different rates and likely burn. As you can see from my picture below there was a rogue long boy in the middle; always room for improvement.

Serve it up with whatever condiments you like; I prefer ketchup and franks but whatever tickles your fancy. Try it, eat it, enjoy it.

Cole Rating: 9/10