Recipe: Rosemary Potatoes

We went to a lot of wineries last month while we were in Napa, and the vast majority of them were wonderful places staffed by wonderful people.  (We did have a couple of experiences in less-friendly environments, but they don't bear dwelling on.  It didn't decrease our enjoyment of the trip by one iota.)  Anyway, one of the wineries we went to was Kuleto Winery.  Kuleto is on top of a mountain, quite literally, and the ride up (and down) was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life.  Once we were on the top, though, every terrifying second of that ride was made worth it.  The wine was very good, of course, and the view was amazing.  The grounds are gorgeous in a way that I can't even describe.  Among the many stunningly beautiful sights was a large patch of rosemary, the most fragrant rosemary I've seen in my life.  (Smelled in my life?)  All through the rest of our trip, the scent of that rosemary stayed with me.  Our trip to Kuleto inspired this dish. 

Of course, I didn't have the same rosemary the winery had.  I used my own rosemary from my own rosemary shrub, and while it wasn't quite the same it was still pretty good.  The rosemary is really what I was trying to showcase here, so the other ingredients are very much background players. 

Rosemary Potatoes (serves 2; approx. $1.44/serving)

1 lb small red potatoes, halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 sprigs of rosemary, divided

Kosher salt to taste

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Colander
• Large skillet

1. Fill the saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.  Salted water works best.
2. Add the potatoes and cook until just tender.  You don't want to overcook them.
3. When the potatoes are done boiling, drain them.
4. Heat the oil in the skillet.
5. Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until softened.  Meanwhile roughly chop 3 of the rosemary sprigs.
6. Add the potatoes and chopped rosemary sprigs to the skillet.  If you need to add more oil as you cook the potatoes, that's okay. 
7. Cook the potatoes until the cut surface at least is crispy. 
8. Remove from heat.  Transfer to the serving vessel and garnish with the remaining rosemary sprig. 

Comments

[jeff]

I am a huge fan of rosemary and potatoes. If I do not do them with rosemary I have found some oregano, lemon juice, and chopped garlic is a beautiful thing too.

Do you know what variety the rosemary was that the vineyard had?

[noble pig]

Yes, the ride up to Kuleto is so, so scary!

And these potatoes...I can smell the rosemary.

[Natasha - 5 Star Foodie]

What a neat memory! I would love to go wine tasting again soon. The potatoes with rosemary look wonderful!

[Chris]

This is one of our favorite side dishes. Haven't tried onions in ours but like you said, the rosemary is the key anyway.

I'm sure that your rosemary is still 10x better than "fresh" rosemary bought at the store!

[The Duo Dishes]

Fresh rosemary is a great find. We have a neighbor whose front lawn is covered by 8 or 9 rosemary bushes in a row. We just yank it right off, wash it up and use it in anything!

[deeba]

Just perfect...love rosemary & potatoes & can't wait for my plant to grow! That's a beautiful picture too!

[Fearless Kitchen]

Deeba - Thanks! Rosemary is one of my favorite flavors & scents. It always reminds me of summer for some reason.

Duo - Doesn't she object? I'm jealous!

Chris - Well, yes, it is better than that, but so are a lot of things :) My grandmother always used onions when frying potatoes (or just about anything else, come to think of it), so it just seemed automatic to me.

Natasha - I'll freely admit that I'd love to go back again myself. Our friend Rob is trying to put together an excursion to some New Jersey wineries the next time we're down there, and my sister wants to take a long weekend and check out some of the Finger Lakes wineries this fall. Not quite the same, but it will still be a lot of fun!

Noble - it was made scarier by the fact that my husband, who was driving, is terrified of heights. I'm glad it wasn't just us though!

Jeff - I have no idea what variety they were, and I'm not sure that our guide did. They were amazingly fragrant, though.