tater tats

tater tats

While I didn’t invent the concept, I’ve found there are a few little tricks to make these Tattooed Potatoes come out looking and tasting perfect, every time.

• Choose your potatoes: Go for potatoes that have a nice symmetrical shape. Long works better than round.

• Choose your herbs: Look for sprigs of parsley, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, or other leafy herb that have well defined leaves and have a good shape. Ask whether you’d use that particular sprig in a floral arrangement. Try to use a variety of herbs.

• Prep your potatoes: Par boiling the potatoes before cutting and roasting them will help them to develop a nice golden color and be tender all the way through.

• Use plenty of good olive oil: Skimp on the oil and your potatoes will be less tender and won’t get you the color you want.

• Flavor your oil. Flavorful oil means flavorful potatoes.

• Arrange your herbs: On each potato half, carefully press your herb sprig, giving attention to the way the leaves are splayed and the position of the stem.

So now that you know the tricks, lets Tat some Taters!

Choose a roasting pan large enough to accommodate all of your potato halves in one layer.

Make sure it’s at least 1 ½ inches deep.

• Preheat the oven to 375°.

• Put up a big pot of heavily salted water to boil. Once it’s boiling, lower your potatoes into the pot. Boil for 5-10 minutes, depending upon the size of your potatoes. Remove them from the pot and allow them to rest until they’re cool enough to handle.

• While your potatoes are cooling, prepare your oil: These are not the sort of slow infused oils that have a long shelf life. They’re designed to be used when you make them. Into a small skillet or saucepan, pour the amount of oil you’ll need to cover the bottom of your roasting pan generously. Then add an extra glug. Add your flavoring of choice. Good choices are garlic, herbs, or citrus peels. Heat the oil gently and let it cook for 5-10 minutes to absorb the flavor of your addition. Don’t let the oil reach smoking point. After the allotted time, strain the oil. It’s now ready to use.

• When your potatoes are cool, slice them in half lengthwise. Carefully arrange an herb sprig on the cut side of each half.

• Pour your flavored oil into your roasting pan. Sprinkle in just a bit of salt, evenly. Dip each potato half, cut side down, into the oil and make sure it’s well-coated. Then arrange them all on the pan, again cut side down, so that there’s a bit of separation between them.

• Grab a pastry brush or a basting brush. Dip it into the pan to soak up some of the oil, and brush the skins of the potatoes so that they’re all nicely oiled.

• Slide the pan into the oven and roast until the potatoes are tender and the bottom are nicely browned. This can take anywhere for 20 minutes to an hour, depending upon your potatoes. Arrange them on their own serving platter, tattooed side up, or as an addition to a platter of roasted meat, chicken, fish, or your favorite vegetarian entrée.