Man, I love Halloween. Georgetown was a blast as always and there were some really original cool costumes. My inspector gadget was quite successful, with random strangers yelling “Inspector Gadget” as I walked by. The extra hour was well spent, livin’ it up until it was time to pass out (not booze related). Good times! I’m already plotting next year’s costume (Mad Hatter, maybe?).
I was walking the produce aisles of my local Trader Joe’s, which is conveniently located near the local library I go to on the weekends to actually get some work done, when I came across some fingerling potatoes. The first thought that popped into my head was “fun size potatoes”.; followed quickly by my second thought “Man, these would make great fingers for a Halloween recipe”. Next year.
Potatoes can take a while to cook even when chopped, so the size of these is rather convenient for during-the-work-week cooking. Pay heed to the instructions about the pot or pan used. Stock takes a while to reduce (as does wine and just about anything else you’re going to reduce), so you really want something with a lot of surface area. This will up the rate of reduction while still allowing all your potatoes to be immersed.
Overall, I liked this. I may experiment with some fresh thyme next time…
4-5 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion; chopped (I went with larger pieces than I normally go)
4 garlic cloves; minced
1 tablespoon butter
Leaves from one sprig of rosemary; coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
2.5-3 cups stock (vegetable or chicken)
1-1.5 lb fingerling potatoes; sliced lengthwise
Saute your onion in oil under medium-high until browned; approximately 5 minutes. Add all your remaining ingredients but the potatoes and cover to bring to a boil. Once boiling, add your potatoes, cover again and bring to a “strong simmer” or “weak boil” (I have no idea if these are valid culinary terms). Let it stay like this to reduce your stock; approximately 20-30 minutes.
When close to all the liquid being gone, raise your heat to medium/medium-high. What you’re going for is some light browning on one side of your potatoes. Be sure to watch it at this phase because it’s very easy to burn it if it sits too long! Once the one side has begun to brown, toss and cook it like you were sauteing it. When well browned all around (rhyme!), remove from heat and serve.
If you used a non-stick pot/pan and you have some burnt stuff on the bottom, never fear. Simply deglaze and add to your potatoes for an even richer taste. Enjoy.
Tags: dinner, potato, rosemary, side dish, vegetarian
Inspector Gadget is such a great idea! And also, I really love fingerling potatoes for the reason you mentioned–they are so quick to prep after a long day of work. I coat mine with olive oil and salt and then toss in the oven (even more effortless than a saute!)
Yeah a quick roast is great. 101cookbooks has a Black Pepper and Lime recipe that I’m quite fond of.