You know what's crazy? Moving to a new state with a very small savings account, no job (or any real prospects), living in a friend's basement, and being on a 2-month deadline to find a job in a saturated market and sign a lease on an apartment.
That's my life right now. In all my jobless/free time, I'm applying to jobs, working on a solid reference list, researching common interview questions, shopping for an interview suit, and enjoying the mountain air. Due to the busyness of moving and getting settled, I hadn't done any of my usual cooking projects, but some beautiful fingerling potatoes changed that.
Moving is scary. But I get to live here:
So it's not so bad.
Fingerling potatoes are small, narrow, finger-shaped potatoes. This nice medley came with a mix of Russian banana (yellow skin), French (red skin), and purple Peruvian (bluish-purple skin). What a pretty combination!
Aioli is not as scary as it sounds. It's basically mayonnaise, and it has only 5 ingredients. And, most importantly, it is delicious. Especially with roasted fingerling potatoes.
Oregano-roasted fingerling potatoes
Serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish
1 pound fingerling potatoes
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
2 tsp dried oregano leaf
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Wash and dry the potatoes. Pierce each potato a few times with a knife or fork and place on a sheet pan.
- Drizzle the potatoes generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Don't be shy with the oregano - more is better.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until the skins are crispy and the insides are soft when pierced with a fork.
Garlic aioli dipping sauce
3 cloves garlic
Pinch of salt
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp oil (I used 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 Tbsp canola oil to balance the olive-y flavor)
1 tsp lemon juice
- (Note: To make your life easier, use a food processor for this entire process. If you don't have one, prepare for a killer arm workout.) Mince the garlic, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt and crush the garlic with the blade of your knife to mash it and form a paste.
- Put the egg yolk in a mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously until it gets frothy.
- Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking as quickly as your arm can go. After a minute or so, the mixture should begin to thicken. Keep whisking and drizzling away until it has a mayonnaise-like consistency.
- Whisk in the lemon juice to thin the aioli a bit and balance out the flavors.
- Mix in the garlic paste.
- Taste, and adjust the salt and lemon juice as needed.
This makes a unique appetizer or side dish - who knew potatoes could be such a great finger food?
Labels: appetizer, comfort food, fall, root vegetable, side
