Saffron Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

½ gram saffron threads

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 medium Desiree, halved lengthwise, or 3-cups of smaller potatoes halved lengthwise.

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.

In a dry pan, toast the saffron to parch it and then crumble it into a dish.

Put the butter and oil into a very small sauce pan and heat over low. Melt the butter and infuse the butter/oil mixture with the saffron over very low heat. The butter/oil should be very fragrant and colored a golden red.

Pour the butter/oil mix over the potatoes in a large bowl, and toss to coat evenly. Allow to marinate. The longer the better.

Salt and pepper the potatoes, then arrange on the round side in a roasting pan and cover tightly with foil.

Roast, covered, for 30 minutes.

Uncover, and roast 15-30 minutes more or until nicely crisped.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Chef’s Notes and Tips:

Yukon Gold or Yellow Finn potatoes work equally well here. You can quarter bigger potatoes and you will get slightly different result, with more crisp surface and less of the creamy interior. With smaller potatoes, you might want to check for done-ness after 20 minutes so you do not risk burning the potatoes. As a tapa, just put the potatoes out into a bowl and serve with alioli (Catalan aioli, or garlic mayo) and Romesco sauces. They are nice simply dipped into arbequina olive oil and coarse salt, as well. Allowing them time to marinate allows the saffron to penetrate the flesh of the potato.

Serves: 4 or more

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen