Rosemary-Infused Olive Oil & Roasted Potatoes

Not many plants survive the summer on my west-facing, desert sun-loving urban condominium deck. Every year, I experiment with new potted plants and herbs, and I’ve only found a few that can take the scorching heat. Rosemary is one plant that survived this year, and it was still thriving late into October.

Still, my rosemary harvest was pretty meager, consisting only of two long stems worth. But I really wanted to make a dish with it to celebrate the herb’s survival. An easy olive oil infusion seemed just the thing to be able stretch out my meager harvest. It gave me a little rosemary oil to flavor some delicious roast potatoes, plus a bottle-full more to adorn other dishes in the winter weeks to come.

Happy cooking and sipping!

 Infused oil recipe by Suzanne Klein, Tea Foodie. Roasted potatoes adapted from Ina Garten’s Rosemary Roasted Potatoes on Food Network.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

For the infused oil:

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 cup good quality olive oil

For the roasted potatoes:

1 ½ pounds small red or white-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size

2 tablespoons rosemary infused olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

zest of 1 lemon

Preparation:

1. For the infused olive oil: Combine the rosemary and olive oil in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, until the oil just barely begins to show signs of bubbling. If you have a candy thermometer to check, the oil should be somewhere between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit; if it gets much hotter, you’ll risk burning the herbs. Remove the oil from the heat, cover, and allow the herbs to steep in the oil while it cools down to room temperature. Once cool, strain the oil into a clean bottle, and discard the rosemary. Stored in a sealed bottle in the refrigerator, the infused olive oil should last about a month. The oil will get cloudy in the refrigerator, but it will clear up as it comes to room temperature when you’re ready to use it.

2. For the roasted potatoes: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with the infused olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for a total of 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning over with a spatula every 20 minutes or so. After the first 20 minutes, stir in the minced garlic. (I find that the garlic burns if it roasts for a whole hour with the potatoes.) The potatoes should be browned and crispy on the outside, and very tender and soft when you bite into them. If you roast them too long, they tend to get a little rubbery, so check them after 45 minutes to gauge how much longer they need to cook. Remove the potatoes from the oven, and sprinkle them with the lemon zest and any additional seasoning as necessary. Serve hot.