Crispy Potatoes Roasted with Garlic and Rosemary

Yes, another roasted potato recipe.

I know. The internet is hardly suffering from a shortage of them. But these are so good I just had to share.

These crispy roasted baby potatoes have quietly replaced fries in our house. Burgers? I make these. Steak? These again. Grilled chicken, souvlaki or anything else that would normally arrive with a pile of chips? You already know what I am putting next to them.

My boys love them. My wife loves them. I love them. They are golden and properly crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy in the middle, and covered in roasted garlic, rosemary and whatever other woody herbs I have hanging around.

And as a bonus, there is no deep-frying.

No pot full of oil. No greasy stovetop. No standing there lowering potatoes into bubbling oil while with kids running doing circles around me. Just one pan, a hot oven and considerably less clean-up.

Why I use these instead of fries

Do these taste exactly like fries? No—and that is not the point.

They do the same job on the plate, only with more flavour. The cracked skins and smashed edges turn dark and crunchy, while the middle stays creamy. Garlic softens and caramelises beside them, and the rosemary perfumes the whole pan.

Fries are mostly there to carry salt and sauce. These potatoes bring their own personality.

They are also much easier when I am cooking for our family or putting a big meal in the middle of the table. I can boil the potatoes earlier, leave them to steam-dry, then smash and roast them while I finish the rest of dinner. Nobody needs me stationed beside a deep-fryer producing batches like the exhausted owner of a suburban takeaway shop.

Ingredients

• 1 kg whole baby potatoes, preferably similar in size
• 5–7 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
• 3–4 sprigs thyme or any other woody herb you have lying around
• 4–5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus extra for boiling and finishing
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

A note about the herbs

Rosemary is my first choice. Potatoes and rosemary have been together forever because they know what they are doing.

I also add whatever woody herb is hanging around in the fridge or garden. Thyme is perfect. Oregano works. Sage is excellent, although I would tear large leaves so they crisp rather than form one enormous herbal roof over a potato.

This is not the time for delicate herbs such as basil or coriander. At 220°C, they will go from fresh and lovely to black confetti before the potatoes are ready.

How to make crispy roasted baby potatoes

1. Heat the oven

Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional or 200°C fan-forced.

We need a properly hot oven. Warm and hopeful will not get the job done.

2. Boil the potatoes whole

Place the whole baby potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt. I like using baby potatos because they I can boil them whole, and they’re the perfect size for squashing in the pan.

Bring to the boil, then cook for about 20 minutes. They are ready when you can see some of the skins beginning to crack and a fork slides easily through the centre.

Try to use potatoes of a similar size so they cook together. If one potato is the size of a grape and another is approaching tennis-ball territory, the timing becomes impossible.

3. Drain and steam-dry

Drain the potatoes thoroughly, then leave them in the colander or spread them on a tray for 20 minutes.

Let the steam escape and the surface dry. They will also firm up slightly as they cool, which makes them easier to flatten without destroying them. You can boil these hours before dinner and let them sit in the colander to cool down completely until you’re ready to use them.

4. Preheat the pan

Once the oven is hot, place a heavy baking tray or cast-iron skillet inside for 15 minutes.

Make sure your pan is large enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer with space between them for squashing. If they are piled on top of each other, use two trays. Crowded potatoes gets all steamy and friendly. We don’t want that.

5. Add the oil and potatoes carefully

Remove the hot pan from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, carefully tilting the pan so the oil spreads across the base. It should loosen and shimmer almost immediately.

Add the potatoes in a single layer. The pan is extremely hot, so be careful. Leave some space between the potatoes for squashing. Potatoes too close can get steamy and friendly. We do not want that.

6. Smash the potatoes

Use a potato masher to press down gently on each potato until the skin splits and it flattens to about 1–2 cm thick.

Stop once it has opened up and created plenty of rough edges. If a potato breaks into two or three pieces, do not panic. Those pieces now have even more edges and may become the best ones on the tray.

7. Add the garlic, herbs and seasoning

Spread the whole garlic cloves, rosemary and thyme around the pan.

Drizzle another 2–3 tablespoons of olive oil over the potatoes and herbs. Season evenly with the salt and black pepper.

Make sure some oil reaches the cracked tops of the potatoes. That is where all the fluffy little edges are waiting to become crisp.

8. Roast until deeply golden

Roast at 220°C conventional or 200°C fan-forced for 20–30 minutes, flipping the potatoes after about 10–15 minutes.

Start checking them at 20 minutes. They are ready when both sides are well browned, the cracked edges are crunchy and the garlic is soft and golden.

Ovens and potato sizes vary, so do not remove them simply because a timer has made a noise. If they still look pale, give them another 5–10 minutes. Crispy is a colour and a texture, not an appointment.

Finish with another pinch of salt and serve them immediately.

Do I really need to flip every potato?

Yes, if you want both sides properly crisp.

The underside gets direct contact with the hot, oily pan and usually colours first. Flipping lets the cracked top have its turn against the heat.

Use a thin metal spatula and work quickly. If a potato is stuck, give it another minute before forcing it. Once a crust forms, it will usually release much more easily.

Serve them with my Florentine-style T-bone dinner

These potatoes are always part of my Florentine-style T-bone steak dinner, and they are absolutely not there as a polite vegetable on the side.

The steak is cooked slowly over wood, rested and sliced on a big board with grilled bone marrow. All those beef juices and melted marrow collect underneath it. Then the potatoes arrive.

Drag a crunchy potato through the juices, add a little marrow and spoon over either my classic chimichurri or red chimichurri.

That bite has smoky beef, rich marrow, sharp herbs, garlic and a potato crisp enough to hold the whole situation together. Calling it a side dish feels slightly disrespectful.

I serve the potatoes in a big bowl or pile them around the carved steak. Either way, make more than you think you need. People who say they are “just having one” cannot be trusted around crispy potatoes.