I love dinner parties and I’m a big believer that everyone should bring something to contribute. It makes it less stressful for the host and it’s fun to see what different people come up with to share. Here’s a super simple, but delicious recipe for Roasted Lemon Rosemary Potatoes. It’s a winner everytime!
Roasted Lemon Rosemary Potatoes
You can buy fingerlings, baby potatoes, small red, purple, yellow, white, it doesn’t matter. Just no russets. Waxy style potatoes like baby fingerlings work best because they crisps up nicely.
Buy enough for your party. Estimate about 8-10 chunks of potatoes per person. It’s ok to have leftovers because people are happy to take them home!
Although you can leave small potatoes (smaller than a golf ball) whole, it’s up to you on sizing. Just keep in mind that smaller pieces will crisp up faster. Try to keep all of your sizes about the same so they cook at the same rate.
- Wash the potatoes and cut them up. Par boil in salted boiling water for five minutes. Drain and let cool.
- Once cool, pour a liberal amount of olive oil on them and sprinkle with diced rosemary. Cut up enough so that each potato has at least a few tiny sprigs on it. Add chunky herb salt. Using clean hands mix the potatoes and salt/herbs together ensuring that every potato has a nice olive oil coating on it.
- Put the potatoes in a large baking dish and put sprigs of rosemary on it.
- Slice 1-2 lemons and place on top and between the potatoes. The lemon will carmelize while baking and infuse a delicious tangy flavor into the dish.
- Bake 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Take them out and turn over. Bake another 25 minutes. If they don’t look browned, then stir again and at another 10 minutes. I will usually stop after the 55 minutes because I will typically reheat the potatoes for about 20 minutes at the dinner party home, so I allow for this extra baking time.
- I leave the cooked down lemons and rosemary in the dish when served. It’s pretty and will continue to impart flavor.
- Right before serving, squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon over the potatoes once again. This is the lemon juice that will add a bright lemon flavor. A little more pepper and salt, and this side is ready to be enjoyed!
I have some heavy duty food carriers which are a must for transporting hot food. Sadly I used such a large baking dish, that it didn’t fit in ANY of them. The back-up plan – get a sturdy cardboard box and place 1-2 dishtowels on the bottom. Place the hot dish inside and close the box back up. The cardboard box is an easy alternative to keep your car clean in transport, food hot and you can recycle it after use.
