Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions

The most humble of all vegetables is absolute perfection in this Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions recipe. They’re soft and fluffy on the inside with a golden exterior, and paired with simple seasonings and onions. Potatoes never tasted this good before!

I made a big decision this year.  You’ll have to forgive me for what I’m about to say. It may be considered blasphemous to some of you.  I decided to forego that big bowl of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving this year.  Why, you ask?  Well, these Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions is one really great reason. But, let me explain.

PLAN, PLAN, AND PLAN SOME MORE!

A large portion of my readers live in the United States. And, I live in Canada.  In the US, Thanksgiving seems to be the be-all-to-end-all of family holidays.  Seriously!  Americans love their Thanksgiving like nothing I’ve ever seen!  Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US later in the month of November.  In contrast, Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated sometime during the first half of October.

Now, being a food blogger means one needs to be constantly aware of upcoming holidays and celebrations in order to publish recipes to the blog that relate to that specific time of year. 

For example, I was baking Halloween cakes and cookies in early September and began publishing those recipes before October even began.  That will allow time for the recipe to pick up some traction and make its way around social media outlets and eventually to you.

I decided to use my Canadian Thanksgiving as a jumping-off point to post a few more Thanksgiving-related recipes.  Of the seven or eight dishes I prepared, I think a total of six of them have already made it to the blog, or will very shortly.

ELIMINATE THANKSGIVING STRESS

Thanksgiving can be quite cumbersome if all of the prep, cooking, baking, etc., is being done on the day you’re serving dinner.  So, to eliminate some of my stress, I decided to cook many of the items on our Thanksgiving menu ahead of time.  That’s the reason I decided to go with Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions rather than mashed potatoes.

THE NOT-SO-SECRET PROCESS

There’s a lot of work that goes into a recipe post.  First, is the inspiration for the recipe. It could be a recipe that I’ve made a million times over, a new twist on an existing recipe, or an existing recipe that has inspired me to try my own version.  Next, and probably most obviously, comes the shopping for the ingredients. That is followed by the preparation of the recipe.

Preparing the recipe might not be as easy as you think.  For a food blogger, the cooking time must be planned and well thought out.  I prepare 99% of the recipes on this site on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  The best time for me to photograph is between 11 am and 2 pm.  (That’s when I get the best natural light in my dining room.)

So, I need to determine how long the recipe will take to make, and work backwards from that.  For these Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions, I needed about forty minutes from start to finish.  I needed to start the recipe sometime after 10 am to ensure good lighting.  Usually, while the recipe is being prepared, I will set up my dining room table. I will carefully select which cutlery or plates/bowls I will use to make the prepared dish look the most appealing.  We eat with our eyes first, right!?

Once the table is set, I set up my camera and tripod. Then, I prepare the garnish and/or props, and take a few test photos.  Then, comes the plating of the dish.  A food blogger will carefully plate the food so that a reader can see the dish from all angles.  This instills confidence in the person making the recipe. They will know exactly how the finished product should look. 

YOU THINK WE’RE DONE, BUT WE ARE NOT!

Taking pictures might seem easy enough, but every time you move that tripod, you need to adjust the lighting and camera settings.  Oh, and also, some social media platforms require portrait photos, while others prefer horizontal ones.  (This all has to be running through your head at all times.)

Okay, let’s pretend the pictures are done.  Now, let’s clean up.  Remember, in most cases, it’s still before 2 pm on a weekend.  I serve the food as a late lunch to McKenna and John.e. Or, pack it up for dinner later that day, or give it to friends. 

After all of that, I need to write up the recipe, write out this blurb you’re reading right now, edit the photos, create graphics on some photos, add tags to my post, work out any SEO issues, write my description, determine the best URL, etc.  Seems like a lot of work for a potato recipe, doesn’t it?  But, you know what, Dear Reader, I love it dearly, so it’s worth it!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Baby Potatoes – These come in different varieties and any of them will do. I love the red skinned potatoes, but I opted for white potatoes in this case.
• Olive Oil
• Onion Flakes – These dried onions will rehydrate and add so much flavour without the need to peel, chop or fry them first.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder – Normally, I would use real garlic, but you run the risk of it burning because of the long roasting time. Burnt garlic tastes horrible, so why risk it?
• Onion Powder – Yes, it seems like a lot of onion, but it works very well with the addition of the onion flakes mentioned previously.
• Thyme – Fresh thyme leaves are the best option. They add an earthy, slightly minty and lemony flavour.
• Summer Savoury – This herb adds so much flavour to the potatoes. To me, it just screams fall-inspired dishes despite its name being summer!
• Rosemary – finely chopped.

HOW TO MAKE ROASTED POTATOES WITH HERBS AND CRUNCHY ONIONS

Begin, by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F. Add the potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, dehydrated onion flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, summer savoury, and rosemary to a large bowl and toss well to coat. Empty contents onto a large baking sheet.

Position potatoes in a single layer with the cut side facing down. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the potatoes to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.

Transfer potatoes to a serving bowl and top with fresh chopped thyme, summer savoury, and rosemary for garnish.

CONCLUSION

I’ve gone on too long!  We were hosting our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, but I needed to photograph the recipes on Saturday.  I needed a potato dish that would hold up to being reheated for Sunday’s dinner.  Roasted Potatoes with Herbs and Crunchy Onions were the key, which is why I had to forego mashed potatoes.  Now that you have the full circle, I hope you’ll forgive me for not preparing everyone’s favourite side dish.

But, Dear Reader, I need you to trust me here – try this potato recipe and mashed potatoes just might become a secondary side dish option for you.  Really!  These potatoes are that good!  Happy Thanksgiving!