Honey Spice Roasted Potatoes
Wasting food.
I hate doing it. I can and will eat leftovers for days until the food is gone before I’ll toss it in the trash or garbage disposal out of ‘boredom’. And even when/if it does spoil and I HAVE to throw it out, I still cringe from irritation and guilt.
It could be because I love food. It could also be because I’m cheap/low in $ funds 98% of the time, and don’t want to see what my money paid for being wasted.
The “inspiration” for this dish was really nothing more than the fact that we had a big bag of russet potatoes in the kitchen that we’d bought as apart of a discount, telling ourselves we’d make baked potatoes.
Naturally, that didn’t happen. They just sat there for a good long while and it finally got to the point where I was concerned that they were going to spoil and go to waste. You guys know how anal retentive I am when it comes to wasting food. I wasn’t throwing out a whole bag of still-usable potatoes. Nuh-uh. So, I decided to just go ahead and use them for something that would cook them all in one go–my taste buds had a craving for wedges, so that’s what I went with.
My process for coming up with this went as follows: I washed and cut the potatoes, opened my spice cabinet and literally just started taking bottles out and shaking the contents together into a bowl if I thought it sounded like they’d taste good when combined. The ‘wild card’ in the bunch was the turmeric. Turmeric’s got a pungent, gingery, almost spicy orange aftertaste to it. It’s used a lot in curry dishes in Asian and Indian dishes and is actually a pretty healthy spice for your as well.
Its bright yellow and can also stain your counter tops and hands yellow for a few days if you’re not careful, but moving on.
After cutting them up, I combined the turmeric with some oil and other spices into a paste, then tossed that together with the potatoes. After cranking up the oven I spread them out on a pair of sheet pans and roasted them until they were tender on the inside and the oil on the pans made them crispy on the outside edges.
The cumin gives the potatoes a smoky earthy flavor while the turmeric and honey provides a spicy sweetness that marries the flavors together very nicely. If Russet potatoes aren’t really your thing, then that’s fine: I can see this working VERY well with Yukon Gold or sweet potatoes too. If wedges aren’t your thing then you can also just cut them into large or smaller chunks and adjust your roasting time to be longer or shorter as needed.
There’s a certain occasion coming up on Thursday where a lot of Americans get together and do a lot of eating. If you still need an easy and delicious side dish for that occasion that will still feed a lot of people, then I’d offer up this one for consideration.
Linking this post up to Fiesta Friday #146 co-hosted this week by Antonia @ Zoale and Petra @ Food Eat Love.
Honey Spice Roasted Potatoes
Recipe by Jess@CookingIsMySport
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. russet/baking potatoes, rinsed and scrubbed
- About 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil, plus extra if necessary
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into thirds/wedges, making sure they are more or less the same size and width to make sure they cook evenly.
Place the potatoes in a plastic re-sealable gallon size bag.
In a small bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients together and mix together with a fork or whisk. It should resemble a loose kind of paste but still be fluid enough to coat the potatoes. If it’s still to thick, drizzle in additional oil into the dressing by tablespoons until it’s liquid-y enough.
Pour the dressing over the potatoes, seal the bag and toss around for two to three turns until the dressing has evenly coated the potatoes.
Spray two half sheet pans well with non-stick cooking spray. Divide the potatoes between the pans and spread out in one even layer.
Roast for 35-40 minutes, mixing the potatoes and switching the pans around half-way through until they are fork-tender in the middle and crisp at the edges.
Love the bright yellow color you’ve achieved here with the turmeric! Looks very tasty! 🙂
Thank you!
Wooww these look and sound amazing! 🙂 yummy thanks for sharing xx
Thank YOU Linda, I appreciate it 🙂
I am with you. I rarely waste food if I can help it. I feel guilty if I have to toss some leftovers or ingredients because they have spoiled. For me it comes from a childhood where food and other resources were not plentiful so I am hard wired to be thrifty and efficient where food is concerned. Adding pungent spices to anything is always a good idea.
We were on government assistance/food stamps when I was a kid, I think my paranoia of waste comes from having to stretch every dime we had in those days. Thanks Laura 🙂
They are perfect golden crusty potatoes! Delicious!!
Golden and cristy is the only way to make em in my book lol Thank you!
These look absolutely yummy Jess! I’m with you on wasting food, I just hate to do it!
Thank you Heather! Frugal cooks unite here lol 😉
I hate wasting food and can eat leftovers all week long too. A lot of my recipes come about by just opening the cupboard and staring at spices too! I love what you did with these potatoes and the combination of spices with the honey that you used!
Thanks Julie 😉
I am totally with you, I don’t like wasting food. Your potatoes look amazing, and I love the sweet and spicy combination. Thank you for bringing your yummy potatoes to share with us at Fiesta Friday!
It’s a pleasure to share them Antonia, Happy FF weekend 😉
Such an unexpected but delightful combination of sweet and spicy flavors! I think I’ll try this combination with maple syrup instead of honey.
Oooh, that sounds like a very yummy twist. Let me know if you do try the recipe out that way and how you like it. Thank you!
I’m the same way about wasting/throwing away food. It makes me feel so guilty. This recipe is a great way to use up potatoes. Looks so crispy and flavorful!
Thank you Lily 🙂
Nice!!! That’s exactly what I do: open my spice cupboard and see what takes my fancy!
Thank you Elaine!
Perfect! I love it!
Thank you very much 😀