PoTastys

These little treasures are so tasty! They can almost keep you from noticing the rest of your meal. Almost. Unless your entrée is awesome, which it was.

I stopped by Primal one day in September for a pork roast. It’s one of the first things I like to make in the Fall, to go with the first batch of applesauce. The woman ahead of me had asked them to make up some pinwheels, but she only needed two. And they didn’t have spinach yet, so they made them with asparagus instead. So of course, I had to get a couple. The pork can wait a day. I got home & started looking around for something to serve with them. There was enough of the last batch of Gazpacho de Julia, and I found a half pound of baby potatoes that were starting to get a little green, on the verge of sprouting. I’ve been playing around with Penzeys Black & Red & potatoes, & wanted to try it with the crispy parmesan & garlic potatoes I read about on The Yummy Life.

And that’s how PoTastys were born. Isn’t that a great name? My husband came up with it. I guess he liked them! I did, too. And they’re a snap to make – fast & easy. It’s a perfect job for your Mini-Mate. What? You don’t have one yet? You really should get one. I use mine constantly. And no, I don’t get anything from Cuisinart for plugging their product. I just find it to be a handy tool, especially when cooking for two. (Of course if they wanted to give me a little something, I probably wouldn’t turn it down…hint, hint.) You could also buy the parm whole & grate it yourself, or buy it finely grated. But you do want to buy it fresh from the cheese section, not the pre-packaged powdered stuff from the spaghetti aisle. The Black & Red gives these a little kick, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call them spicy.

Ingredients:

¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp Penzeys Black & Red seasoning (You can substitute 1/8 tsp each black pepper & cayenne, or tweak the proportions to suit your heat preferences.)

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp kosher salt

⅛ tsp dried rosemary

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ pound baby potatoes (about 10)

Preparation:

1.) Preheat oven to 400°F. Run the first 5 ingredients (Parmesan through rosemary) through your Mini-Mate (or small food processor) until the cheese is fine & crumbly and everything is well-mixed.

2.) Pour the olive oil into a shallow glass baking dish (I used an 8″x 8″), and tilt it around until the bottom of the dish is evenly coated. Sprinkle the cheese & spice mixture evenly over the oil.

3.) Wash the spuds, and cut them in half. Press them cut side down into the dish, without letting them overlap.

4.) Bake for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender & cheese is browning. Remove from oven, and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Use a small spatula to carefully remove them from the baking dish, so the crusty cheese stays attached to the spuds. If they’re stuck together, use a sharp knife to cut the cheese between.

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