March 17, 2011
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Few things say “Irish” more than potatoes, and there are few things more fun in the garden, in my humble opinion, than digging for potatoes with your children. It’s like digging for buried treasure. The girls get so excited mining the earth for potato gold, I’m pretty sure their giggles and screams can be heard in Ventura! Here is a super quick and easy way to prepare your garden potato bounty.
The boiled potato is a classic accompaniment to corned beef and cabbage (hint, hint), and this recipe elevates the filling side dish from bland to mouthwatering. The bay leaf, garlic and butter make for a perfect combination of savory, salty, melt-in-your-mouth flavor. I made a test-batch of these that were devoured by my household in a matter of minutes…at 11 a.m.
Yukon gold potatoes are perfect to use because their skin is so thin they don’t need to be peeled. If you have slightly thicker skinned potatoes, like red new potatoes, you can easily remove the skins just after cooking (just let them cool a bit so you don’t burn your digits!).
Serves 4
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes or Baby Dutch yellow potatoes
2 cloves of garlic (sliced in half)
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons butter (Kerrygold’s Pure Irish Butter is my favorite. Bonus—it completely fits the holiday)
3 – 4 tablespoons chopped parsley or herb of your choice
Sea salt
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut the potatoes in half, or quarters if they are larger. When the water is boiling, add the potatoes, garlic cloves and bay leaf, plus a good handful of kosher salt. Allow everything to cook for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
Strain the potatoes and remove the bay leaf and pieces of garlic. Put the pot back on the stove and add the butter. When the butter melts, add the potatoes and give them a good toss to coat the potatoes in all of the butter’s tastiness. Sprinkle with your chopped herbs and a healthy pinch of sea salt.
If you want a little more color, you can leave them in the butter longer for a crispier, more golden-brown skin.
