Roasted baby potatoes with cheese and herbs

Crispy potato goodness!

As South African’s we love starchy sides and in particular … potatoes, in every shape and form! This potato recipe by Heleen Meyer, is certainly one to add to your repertoire. Cooked baby potatoes are crushed, drizzled with a glug of olive oil, topped with cheese and herbs, and roasted in a hot oven until golden brown and crispy. This side dish is really not a lot of effort, yet high in flavour – what more does one need? It will soon become a family favourite, and everyone will think you’ve spent hours in the kitchen preparing this simple dish.

The baby potatoes don’t need peeling and the skins add to the crispiness – a huge time-saver and a great way to keep all the goodness of the potato intact. The fresh rosemary in the boiling water adds an extra boost of flavour. I love the fact that much less oil is needed, compared to preparing other crispy potato dishes. And by using olive oil, you’re adding some healthy fats to the meal. If you prefer to prepare the potatoes as indicated and pop them into an air fryer, this works just as well as the oven.

Chef’s tip: When cooking potatoes, never poke them with a fork to test if they’re cooked. This breaks open the potatoes, which can make them absorb a lot of water, which isn’t ideal if they still need to be roasted. Rather use a cake tester or the point of a sharp knife only to make a small incision.

Roasted baby potatoes with cheese and herbs

Recipe by Heleen Meyer

Image by Adel Ferreira, for LiG Tydskrif

Serves 4 – 6

500-750 g baby potatoes, in the skin

3 short sprigs fresh rosemary

salt and pepper

75-90 ml (5-6 tbsp) olive oil

30 ml (2 tbsp) roughly chopped mixture of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, parsley and origanum

125 ml (50 g) coarsely grated mature white cheddar or pecorino cheese

1. Place the baby potatoes and rosemary sprigs with 300-350 ml water and a pinch of salt in a big enough pot and bring to a boil.

2. Lower the heat and boil the potatoes with the lid on, for 20 minutes or until just soft. Drain well and place the potatoes in a single layer in a flat oven dish.

3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 ˚C. Crush each potato gently with a fork so that it just breaks open.

4. Mix the oil and the herbs and pour over the potatoes. Season to taste and sprinkle the cheese over.

5. Turn on the oven’s grill and roast the potatoes for 8-10 minutes or until golden-brown and crunchy.  Serve immediately.