I believe in making my life easier every chance I get. And this recipe is the very essence of that affirmation. Just a few dried herbs, dehydrated onion, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, a glug or two of olive oil, and some chunks of potato and you have the makings for a wonderfully simple and delicious vegetable side dish. And relatively healthy to boot! And these potatoes go with just about any simple meat dish. Roast chicken, pork tenderloin, grilled flank steak, grilled hamburgers, etc. etc. Just a lovely combination of crispy and tender. Completely yum!

So next time you want a delicious side dish that everyone will enjoy, throw a batch of these in your oven. Your kids will love them. You can of course serve them with ketchup, but they can just as easily stand on their own. They are just that flavorful. Enjoy

2-3 T. extra virgin olive oil

1½ tsp.  dried minced onion*

1 tsp. dried oregano*

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves*

½ tsp. dried marjoram*

½ tsp. dried basil*

½ tsp. granulated garlic  

1 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

healthy pinch paprika  

3 lbs. unpeeled baby Yukon gold or baby red potatoes (or a mixture of the two)

cooking spray

Whisk the olive oil, onion, oregano, thyme, marjoram, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika together in a medium sized bowl.

Place extra-large low-sided baking sheet in oven on the middle rack.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees with the baking sheet inside.  

Slice the potatoes in half (quartering any unusually large ones). Dry thoroughly with either paper towels or a clean kitchen tea towel.  Stir the potatoes into the olive oil mixture making sure every surface is coated with the seasoned oil. 

Remove baking sheet from oven and quickly cover the bottom of the hot pan with cooking spray. Scoop the potatoes onto the hot baking sheet and spread carefully into an even layer.

Bake for 20 minutes, then flip each potato over and bake another 15 minutes, or until golden brown, crispy, and fork tender. Serve hot.

*if the dried minced onion, or dried oregano, thyme, marjoram, or basil leaves are particularly large, you probably should reduce the size a bit before mixing them in with the olive oil. I use my small mortar and pestle for this purpose. (You don’t need to pulverize the herbs. You just don’t want the dried herbs or dehydrated onion pieces to be so large that they might burn during the roasting process.)

Note: I make up a large batch of the seasoning mixture while I’m at it. Then when I make these potatoes, I use 2 tablespoons for 3 pounds of potatoes.