Some of the best times in my life have been cooking with Marta, our dear friend and Julia’s godmother. Marta’s a gifted but unfussy cook with a rare talent for turning out beautiful meals in record time with no visible stress. She’ll often go from raw materials to a finished three-course dinner over cocktails, assigning a small task here, pouring a drink there, and washing, chopping, mixing, baking, steaming, grilling, and serving without so much as a break in the conversation. I’ve watched her do it a hundred times, and I still don’t know how she manages it.
One of her stand-by side dishes is known (and loved) in our house as Marta Fries (which is a little amusing to us because Marta’s surname is Fry). There’s nothing particularly complex or novel about this recipe, but this dish is delicious, versatile, nearly foolproof and very quick. For an easy dinner I throw a batch of these in the oven and, while they’re baking to golden perfection, toss a salad, grill some meat or fish, open a bottle of wine, and dinner’s ready in under an hour. There’s no peeling, tedious chopping, parboiling or mashing. You don’t even really need to turn them as they bake.
The texture of the potatoes is somewhere between home fries and roasted potatoes with a toasted (but not exactly crispy) outer skin and a light, fluffy interior. I think the key to success is using Russet potatoes instead of fancier Yukon Golds or other denser spuds. Their lighter texture allows you to avoid the step of parboiling them, and their long shape and large size means that more of the tender flesh is exposed to the heat of the oven after you slice them up.
And make extra — they’re great with eggs for breakfast.
Recipe
Ingredients (all amounts are approximate)
2 lbs (1kg) Russet potatoes
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
1 spring fresh Rosemary (optional — Thyme is also nice)
1 large onion (optional)
Kosher or coarse sea salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425F (230C).
2. Cut the potatoes and onion lengthwise into eighths and chop the Rosemary leaves finely.
2. Toss with the olive oil and about 1 1/2 generous teaspoons of the coarse salt.
3. Warm an ungreased baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes. Remove it from the oven and dump the potato mixture onto it, pressing the potatoes more or less into a single layer with a spatula.
4. Return to the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Once, about halfway though baking, flip the potatoes over with a sharp spatula, scraping any that have stuck off the baking sheet.
Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve hot from the oven or reheated.
Did I get it right, Marta?
