For those of you who have been following my blog, you might have come to the conclusion that I love to cook in a skillet. This wasn’t always so! When john.e and I moved in together, he came with a few cast iron skillets, and I HATED them! They were heavy and seemed way too daunting in terms of maintenance and seasoning. And, I tend to cook everything on high heat, so I would burn just about everything I tried to cook. Since then, I’ve greatly changed my opinion on cast iron skillets. I’ve come to love cooking in them, and I’ve learned to keep the heat at a lower setting – something I should have been doing all along anyway!
Cast iron skillets offer a few benefits to the home cook. First of all, these skillets are great for those recipes where the food first needs to be seared and then placed in the oven. A cast iron skillet can easily transition from the stove top to the oven. These skillets are sturdy and long lasting. Unlike Teflon-coated pans, you cannot damage a cast iron skillet by using metal utensils, therefore, replacing a cast iron skillet becomes less likely.
My personal favourite benefit is that food cooks beautifully in a cast iron pan! Browning, caramelizing, sautéing, searing, etc., is all better in a cast iron pan.
That’s how these skillet roasted potatoes came to be.
I live in an apartment very close to the downtown core of Toronto. In the summer months, I still want to eat good food, but prefer not to heat up my oven. Roasting potatoes in the oven requires a high temperature of at least 400 degrees, and it will take at least 45 minutes. That’s a lot of heat for my apartment-sized kitchen in the middle of July and August! Roasting stove-top, however, eliminates the extra heat, and as an added bonus, makes for a better tasting vegetable!
The process could not be simpler!
Skillet Roasted Potatoes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yellow-fleshed baby potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- green onions or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- On medium heat, melt the butter and a little olive oil in the skillet.
- Add the salt and pepper, and swirl the pan around to mix the salt and pepper into the melted butter.
- Carefully place the potatoes into the skillet and move them around, coating each piece in the butter.
- Allow the potatoes to sit for a while. Don't move them around the pan too much. Let the heat from the skillet brown the potatoes on each surface. Stir every 5 minutes or so.
- After the potatoes have all turned a deep golden colour, add the paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss to coat.
- Continue to brown the potatoes for a few minutes more before serving.
- And, that's it! Top with green onions or parsley and serve.
Notes
If you want to take these potatoes even further, portion them into oven-proof baking dishes, top with grated cheese and green onions, and place them under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Remove the potatoes from the oven, allow to cool for 3 minutes and top with sour cream. Yum!
Nutrition
Serving: 0g | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 0mg | Potassium: 0mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin A: 0% | Vitamin C: 0% | Calcium: 0% | Iron: 0%
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