Sea salt and cracked pepper roasted potatoes

It might be the Irish in me, but I love potatoes more than I probably should. Baked and topped with salt and butter? Wedges with Sriracha mayo? Au gratin? Mashed? Yes, yes, yes, and YES. Gimme, gimme.

Uh…

One thing I love about potatoes is their versatility. There are a million (probably) ways to prepare them and you can be as plain Jane or fancy pants as you like. I generally tend to be a fan of simple taters, because you can easily load them up with toppings that both render them unhealthy and cover the flavor of the actual potato.

I was browsing the produce department last week when I found a bag of little bitty red potatoes called Rubies. Thinking they would be perfect for roasting, I threw them in the cart.

I made these to go with the Greek marinated pork chops and Panzanella a few nights ago… They turned out crispy on the outside and almost creamy on the inside…with a slightly sweet, potatoey flavor. I made them again last night to go with our giant steaks

The BF kept referring to them as Old '96ers

and they turned out just as perfectly as the first time. Ladies and gents, I may have discovered my new favorite potato.

But not for long, because I’m fickle.

Sea salt and cracked pepper roasted potatoes

6 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half (or enough to fit in a single layer in your skillet)

Olive oil

Coarse sea salt

Black pepper

Heat oven to 375°. Cover the bottom of a cast iron skillet with oil and let heat in the oven. Make sure to remove the skillet when the oil is hot, because burnt oil is no good.

When the pan is hot, add enough sea salt to just cover the bottom of the pan. Arrange potatoes cut side down in a single layer on top of the salt. Pour a little more olive oil over the potatoes, then sprinkle with a little more sea salt and crack some pepper over them. Into the oven they go, then set the timer for an hour. They will probably be cooked through before that, but you want the outside to really crisp up.

Once they’re out of the oven, I transferred them to a paper towel lined plate to soak up some of the oil and to help keep them crispy.