Oven-baked potatoes in their skins

I was surprised today when Ninka told me these were her favourite potatoes. Well, not the ones in this recipe: it turned out her favourites were without the skin, or jacket. And the kind from a bag bought in a shop, at that. In other words, ready-made and „taking the easy way out”.

As you know, Prymitywna Kuchnia always takes the easy way out, but it’s certainly not so primitive that it buys ready-made „roast potatoes”. Or perhaps it’s primitive precisely because it doesn’t take the easy way out? As in, it goes back to the roots of cooking: „do it yourself”, because the shop-bought stuff is yuuuck.

And mainly E220 and E123 😉

I don’t think Coelho ever took the easy way out either. And Grochola, as everyone knows, moved into the bush so she wouldn’t rest on her easy-way-out laurels!

[there ought to be the finest quote from Coelho or perhaps Grochola here, but I decided it would be better if you put your own favourites in the comments]

So Nina didn’t quite like these potatoes after all. I mean, she liked them, but she peeled off the skins. For me, without the skins they wouldn’t be what they should be. I have to admit they came out perfectly, just as I’d imagined. Not greasy, fried and then finished in the oven, but delicate, sweet, with only a lightly crisp skin, and succulent. Really proper potatoes.

True, to „produce” them I used French new potatoes, which are quite rare at this time of year. Unfortunately, they’re rather expensive where I live, but I don’t eat potatoes very often, so surely I can afford a little „luxury” 😉 like this now and then, can’t I? I recommend them!

At a glance:

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Baking time: 25 minutes

Baking temperature: 200 degrees Celsius

Serves: as many as you like, depending on the number of potatoes (this is a portion for two people)

How many calories: hardly any

Ingredients for small new potatoes from the oven:

• 12 new potatoes (I had French ones, lovely and clean, with beautiful skins)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ground sweet paprika
• ground hot paprika
• dried rosemary

Recipe for oven-baked potatoes in their skins:

I washed the potatoes thoroughly and boiled them in lightly salted water. Not until completely soft, though: I cooked them for 15 minutes. Then I drained them and let them cool slightly.

I cut each potato in half with a sharp knife and put them in a glass baking dish. I sprinkled them with freshly ground black pepper, added a little more salt, then a good sprinkling of dried sweet paprika and hot paprika, and finally dried rosemary. I drizzled them lightly with olive oil and put them in an oven preheated to 200 degrees Celsius. I baked them for 25 minutes.

The potato halves, baked in their skins, are ready. They’re slightly sweet, with lightly browned skins on the outside and perfectly soft, succulent insides. Enjoy!