Crispy Potato Roast + a Giveaway!

Happy birthday, baby foodie! Today is Richie’s first birthday. On July second just one year ago (it was Saturday), I was in labor. At 6:49 pm, Riche arrived and screamed his first of many cries. He ate his first meal, and made us all extremely tired and happy. So, in honor of Richie’s birthday, we are doing a giveaway. Instead of Richie getting all the gifts, one of our readers will have the opportunity to receive a wonderful cookbook!

In elementary school, we had a custom of giving a gift to the class on our birthdays (in third grade I brought a pencil sharpener for the class – awesome, no?), because, you know, kids get enough presents on that day, why not give something, too?

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a representative from Hanabi Creative letting us know about their new book, the Bais Yaakov Cookbook, a book with recipes, shopping guides, and halachot (laws) regarding the kosher kitchen. It’s a beautiful book with traditional and modern recipes and lots of pictures!

I bookmarked many recipes while going through the book – and the first one I made (the day after I got it!!) was this potato roast recipe. It was simple, but beautiful. Pareve, but easily adapted to dairy (and easily adaptable with some different flavors!), and something that could complete an “eh” meal.

Now, I know you may be thinking “you got a cookbook full of meat, poultry, fish, and dessert recipes and you made POTATOES? but really, these are delicious. They’re soft on the inside, but crispy on the edges…and they’re not fried!

Swap out the shallots for regular onions or even garlic. Use rosemary instead of thyme, top with parmesan, use butter and a splash of milk if making dairy, add chives, parsley, and parmesan cheese at the end…the variations to this amazing recipe are endless.

So, enter the giveaway to win the cookbook, and stay tuned for more recipes! To enter, just leave a comment below. The winner will be chosen at random next Monday.

Stay tuned for another recipe from the book next week!

 

Crispy Potato Roast, adapted from the Bais Yaakov Cookbook:

Ingredients:

  •  6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 4 pounds yukon gold potatoes (I didn’t peel them, even though the original recipe said to)
  • 4 shallots, peeled
  • 8 sprigs thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. With a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice potatoes very thinly.

3. Place about a tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of a 9-inch oven-to-table dish and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper (and red, if you’re using).

4. Arrange your potato slices vertically on the dish (so the edges, not the flat sides, are up).

5. Thinly slice the shallots with a sharp knife or a mandolin. Place a slice of shallots between each slice of potato.

6. Brush the remaining 5 tablespoons oil.

7. Generously season with salt and peppers.

8. Arrange the thyme around the potatoes.

9. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, covered with foil. The recipe does not say to cover it, but I think the potatoes get a little *too crispy if not covered.

10. Cover with foil and bake another 30-35 minutes, until tops are crispy.

11. Serve hot, and enjoy!