Mr. Potato Head hates me.  Fair enough, I cook enough of these to deserve that fate.

Still, potatoes rank only second to Guacamole in terms of food that never lasts at a party. So, here is my go-to recipe.

Remember – you can scale these up or down. This is just for a party of about 10. The trick is in the seasoning.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 potatoes, in ½ cubes
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 Pepper, sliced 
• 4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped.
• 2-3 sprigs rosemary, minced.
• Salt
• Smoked Paprika
• Pepper
• Canola Oil
• Juice of half a lemon (optional; just going all “Greek” on you here)

A note on rosemary – this smells wonderful, and is super sticky (ask my old dog Henry, who needed 2 baths after a losing battle with a plant).  Its also very woody, which is why I never use the dried stuff.

A trick – I often get 2 different colored bell peppers. I mix these into the salad, and then use multiple colored peppers here. Another take is to use a spicier pepper such as a pasilla (shown) or jalapeno.

Recipe:

The center of a raw potato, even after baked, can be as hard as a rock. So, take the potatoes, and steam (or parboil) them for about 5 minutes. These should be softer than when you cut them, but not soft. If they crumble, they’re overcooked. 

Put all the ingredients in an appropriate baking dish. Heat the oven to about 400 degrees (note – if you’re cooking something that needs a lower temp, then just use a lower temp here as well; why do double work trying to cook them separately?

Roast uncovered for about 45 minutes. I like to stir them about halfway through.