Garlic roasted potatoes is one of the easiest dishes to make, but to make them really good it helps to:
pick the right potatoes, get the right spices and herbs, bake at the right temperature.
The best spuds for making crispy roasted potatoes
According to potato experiments done by serious eats, Russet potatoes get the crispest crusts and roast up a pale golden brown, with interiors that are fluffy and mild. Yukon Gold potatoes roast a little darker due to their lower starch content and higher sugar content. This results in more flavor, but slightly less crisp crust with creamy and flavorful interiors. Red potatoes become quite dark due to relatively low starch content, but have difficulty getting crisp and maintaining that crispness when out of the oven. That said, pick the potatoes that give you the desired results. For me, Yukon Golds are choice number one when making garlic roasted potatoes. I love their flavor and the soft and creamy interior.
Temperature, Convection vs. no convection for baking potatoes
I like roasting my potatoes at 450F as I find this temperature to be perfect in terms of giving great browning, crisping up and speed of cooking. That’s not to say that you can’t use a lower or higher temperature – you may like the result from them better. But for me, 450F works and I tend to stick with it. I love using convection and, naturally, tried it with this recipe. It failed miserably. While potatoes seemed to benefit from convection, garlic did not like it at all. Only after ten minutes of baking garlic garlic scorched turned almost black. So, no convection is the answer.
Essential herbs for garlic roasted potatoes
Garlic, potatoes and olive oil is a trinity made in heaven. Just using those three ingredients and a touch of salt will give you fantastic garlic roasted potatoes. However, those crispy, garlicky morsels will be even tastier if roasted covered with aromatic herbs. Parsley, rosemary and thyme can’t be beat as far as the best aromatics for potatoes. Oregano is a good choice too to add into the mix or as a substitute. I like using them in combination, giving parsley a slight advantage and increasing its ratio a little. When you have oil, you need to have some sort of acidity to create a balanced taste. Some gourmet restaurants I’ve been to liked adding lemon zest to potatoes which I loved immensely. I love the brightness and slight acidity that lemon zest adds to potatoes, as well as its aromatics. Looking for more potato side dish recipes? Check these out:
Hungarian Sauteed Potatoes Roasted Baby Potatoes Homemade Truffle Fries
