And it’s not just chili that makes this side dish such a success. There’s rosemary and garlic too — both of which turn crunchy during the half-hour long baking. Can you smell it already? But, first…
What are baby potatoes?
Baby potato is not a special cultivar. It’s just new potato harvested early before it grows to full size. So, depending on what cultivar it falls under, it can be floury or waxy just like full-size regular potatoes.
Depending on where you are in the world, baby potatoes also go by fingerling potatoes or pearl potatoes.
Can you eat the skin of baby potatoes?
Yes, oh yes! The skin of baby potato is so thin! And when you roast baby potatoes, the skin turns crackly.
That cleared up, let me show you some photos to prove just how easy it is to roast baby potatoes. First you have to cut them into halves. Exposing the flesh makes it easier for the potatoes to soak up flavors. They need to be tossed with salt, pepper, chili flakes and rosemary before melted butter and chopped garlic are added.
For even flavoring, stir the melted butter and garlic into the potato halves. You want the entire surface of each piece of potato to glisten with melted butter. This will help make the surface crispy. You also want the pieces of garlic to be distributed evenly.
The baking is done in two stages. During the first stage, the bably potatoes cook at 425F. At this temperature, the surface browns and the skins blister and crackled like paper. The temperature is then turned down to 400F and the potatoes continue to cook in the lower temperature. This is the stage when the innermost part of the potatoes gets cook through without risk of overbrowning the surface.
When you scoop out the fully roasted potatoes into a serving bowl (or into individual bowls), you will see a pool of butter in the pan. There will also be browned bits stuck here and there. Scrape those browned bits and stir into the butter. Then, pour the mixture over the potatoes. No flavor is lost that way.
Full recipe below
Roasted baby potatoes with chili, garlic and rosemary
Ingredients
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 500 to 600 grams baby potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 sprig rosemary - stripped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Stir the garlic into the melted butter and leave to steep.
- Rinse the baby potatoes then dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel.
- Cut the baby potatoes into halves.
- Spread the potato halves in a baking pan.
- Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, chili flakes and rosemary. Toss well.
- Pour the butter / garlic mixture over the seasoned potato halves.
- Toss everything thoroughly to make sure that every piece of potato is coated in butter and the garlic is evenly distributed.
- Roast the baby potatoes at 425F for ten minutes.
- Stir the potatoes in the baking pan and roast for another ten minutes.
- Lower the heat to 400F and roast for a final ten minutes.
- Scoop out the potatoes and transfer to a serving bowl or individual bowls.
- Scrape the bottom of the baking pan to loosen anything that's stuck.
- Pour the butter from the pan, along with whatever you scraped from the bottom, over the baby potatoes and serve.
