Signature Potatoes

This recipe, especially in light of another one I’ve already published, is a little strange, to be honest. Why? Well, this recipe has been in my family since I was 2, maybe 3, and that’s when I developed, tasted, and named it—and yet, it took until I was almost 20 for me to realize that almost this same exact flavor combination could be put into oil, vinegar, and vinegar; used as a marinade for chicken; reduced; and finally thickened with cream and milk before being served with pasta. That, in one sentence, is my signature dish. I’d been calling it that and I’d been so confident in the fact that these flavor profiles would work well together—because they do—before I’d even tasted the chicken dish the first time. It was only after several months of preparing the chicken dish that I realized its connection to this recipe, my family’s go-to for roasted potatoes.

This recipe is really simple—literally, a toddler (me) was the primary tester (but the primary chef and developer certainly was my mom), and the reason that we call this what we do in my family, “Batata Sucesso” [“success[ful] potatoes”]— because it takes a fraction of the time it takes to prepare the dish that it inspired. The reduction in time mainly comes from the fact that it is not necessary to let the potatoes sit in any kind of solution for any amount of time at all before roasting them. They can be cut, tossed, and roasted right away.

Prepare a rub for the potatoes but be aware that this will be significantly less liquid volume compared to the marinade for the Signature Chicken, but it will taste quite similar. For the marinade, use olive oil, (don’t use any acids, and you can skip the zest), salt, pepper, paprika, dill, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.

Simply peel, rinse, and cube, 2 to 3 pounds of potatoes—for this recipe, use Yukon Golds. Toss the potatoes in the spice-oil mixture to thoroughly season them, then roast them in an oven at 350 Fahrenheit until cooked through—anywhere between 40 minutes and an hour, depending on the strength and size of your oven.

If you make this, be sure to leave a comment down below letting me know!