Crispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Onion

Crispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoes are easy and fairly quick to get on the table. They're the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and they're an ideal side for almost anything!

We all typically have potatoes in our kitchens, since they're a hearty comfort food, and are a fantastic side with practically anything.

So it's always good to have a handful of ways to cook and flavor them on hand. This recipe is one of my favorites, and while I'm featuring Fingerling potatoes, you can make this with any variety you like.

Whether you're having a barbecue and serving marinated grilled steaks, or if you're having a small dinner party with a chicken salad -- and pretty much anything in between, everyone will love these crispy roasted potatoes on the side.

About the Ingredients

• Fingerling potatoes - Fingerling potatoes are small, skinny and thin-skinned. Low starch and dense, their shape holds well when cooked. They come in a variety of colors -- beige, red and purple. Use whichever you like. Substitutions: Yukon Gold, Dutch Yellow (or Baby Dutch Yellow), Russets and Baby Red or White potatoes will all work well. If you're using larger potatoes, cut them into approximately bite-sized pieces. Please note that cooking times might vary, depending on the variety of potato used.
• dried minced onion - For this recipe, for ultimate crispiness, I use dried minced onion. Substitutions: You can use the same amount of onion powder, or about ⅓ cup finely chopped, fresh onion.
• fresh garlic - The garlic is finely chopped or grated and becomes part of the crispy coating on the potatoes. Substitution: Use 2 teaspoons garlic powder or dried garlic.
• extra virgin olive oil - Use one you love the flavor of.

How to Make Crispy Roasted Fingerlings

- Line a sheet pan with foil and set the oven to 400°F.

- Place the washed, dried and cut potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add the olive oil, dried onion, garlic and salt. Mix until all of the potatoes are coated.

- "Pour" the coated potatoes onto the foil-lined sheet pan, and spread them out so they are in one even layer.

* Pro Tip * The best way to prepare the garlic for this recipe is to grate it into a pulp with a microplane zester. If you don't have one, mince it as finely as possible.

- Sprinkle them with pepper, and add a piece of foil very lightly on top. Fold the edges of the bottom piece over the edges of the top piece, being sure it puffs up a bit, like a bag. (In other words, do not place the top sheet of foil directly on the potatoes -- you want a good inch or so of space between the potatoes and the top sheet.)

- Place the potatoes in the preheated 400°F oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the potatoes from the oven and turn the heat up to 450°F.

- Take off the top sheet of foil -- very carefully because the steam that will release will be very hot!

- Once the oven has heated to 450°F, return the uncovered potatoes. Roast them until the bottoms of them are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gently flip them over and continue to roast until the other side is golden brown, about another 10 minutes.

Recipe tip: During the roasting process, some of the bits of onion and garlic will likely blacken on the foil. That's okay -- just discard it when the potatoes are done, or leave it for an additional charred flavor.

- Taste and season with more salt if necessary. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet before serving.

Variations

• Spicy version. Once the potatoes are cooked, toss them with 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper. Or you can add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. (Start with less and season to taste to be sure it's not too hot.)
• Smoky version. Add 1 tablespoon of ancho chile or chipotle powder.
• Fresh herb version.
• Roasted garlic version. Rather than using 1 tablespoon of raw garlic, replace it with 3 tablespoons of roasted garlic. It will have a subtly sweet, less pungent flavor, and you can make the roasted garlic up to a few days ahead -- here's a guide for how to roast garlic.

Serving Suggestions

This potato side is delicious with all sorts of chicken, meat and vegetarian dishes. Below are a few delicious ideas:

I also love it with Chicken Under a Brick, and the crispy potatoes are also fabulous tossed into all sorts of hearty main course salads.

I hope you enjoy every last potato!

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