That’s right.  If you have potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, a pan and source of heat, you have  the makings of good eats.

Roast potatoes are a big part of my oeuvre.  They add comfort to a meal, and can serve as a complete meal when paired up with good bread, butter and preserves and maybe an egg.  They are great with creamed spinach, as well, and are fabulous served as a version of patatas bravas, in which case you need to make a good bravas sauce, such as the one in the Cesar cookbook.

Here’s all you have to do:

Roasted potatoes

1)  Wash and dry decent potatoes, like Yukon Gold, but, really, any kind will be OK.
2)  Cut into pieces as large as you like, but I usually make them no more than 1 1/2″ thick.
3)  Lay out in a single layer (with some breathing room) on a sheet pan.
4)  Add a liberal amount of salt (and some other spices, as you like, such as curry powder) to the top of the potatoes.  Don’t worry about distribution.
5)  Pour some canola oil on the potatoes.  Not too much, not too little.  You want a very thin layer on the bottom when all is said and done.
6)  Rub the whole mass together with your hands so that the taters are coated with oil, salt and spices and evenly distributed on the sheet pan.
7)  Bake at 400 deg. F., preferably with convection, until they start to brown.
8)  Turn the potatoes, prying them up carefully with a straight spatula and not allowing the browned parts to stick to the pan.
9)  Back in the oven until crispy outside and soft in the middle.
10)  Sprinkle with a little pepper

Enjoy!

Note that the photo here shows curry powder roast potatoes.