Super Side: Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

I'm always on the hunt for versatile side dishes, particularly those that take very little preparation and monitoring. I don't like to have too many things going on at once while I'm in the kitchen - cooking is a de-stresser for me, and I like to keep it as laid back as possible. I love to find sides that I can pair with almost anything; I end up using them so often that I don't even need to look at the recipe after awhile (I like that, too). Today's recipe is one of those.

The first time I ever tried to make this dish was at my husband's request. We were having crab legs, and he mentioned that we should "make those really good potatoes that usually come with the crab leg plate at Joe's [Crab Shack]. You know, the red ones?" Yes, I did know. Willing to try it, I ran to the store to buy the ingredients for what ended up being a super delicious accompaniment to our dinner. We haven't been back to Joe's since (it's too expensive, and honestly? our homemade dinner was WAY better!).

These potatoes are like your favorite little black dress - you can dress them up or down, depending on the occasion. For example, they are casual and delightful when paired with crab legs and a side of garlic butter, but sophisticated and classy when prepared with a stuffed chicken breast and baked asparagus. Versatile? Absolutely. Delicious? Of course!

The BEST thing about this recipe? I'm giving it to you two ways. These are both extraordinarily easy, and both come out really yummy. Really, your schedule will determine which method you'd like to use, as one takes significantly longer than the other.

Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Red Potatoes

1 lb. red potatoes, quartered

2 tbs olive oil

8 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp kosher salt

Fresh Rosemary sprigs (or 4 tsp dried rosemary)

Method 1: Oven

  Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover and stir potatoes, then return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Method 2: Slow Cooker (as pictured above)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cover. Set to low and cook for 4 1/2 hours, or until potatoes are fork tender.

You will find that the results differ slightly between these two methods (the slow cooker version will produce a softer potato than the oven-roasted method). Both, however, extract the wonderful rosemary and garlic flavors and infuse them right into the potatoes. So good!

Until next time...

Cheers!