In planning this menu, I tried to have all the dishes be made ahead. These potatoes had me stumped though. There are lots of oven home fries recipes but none of the dishes turned out as I wanted. They took forever to brown, had a mushy texture or had to bake at too high a temperature. And they needed to be stirred several times, necessitating opening the oven and lowering the temperature for the other dishes baking at the same time. The oven home fries were not up to my standards and I’d never serve them to company.
Make the home fries on the stove or on your griddle while everything else is in the oven. They do best when not fussed with anyway. Just turn them a few times and they will give you a beautiful crisp brown crust with a fluffy interior. Here’s how:
Peel (or leave the peel on) and cut 1 ½ pounds potatoes into ¾” cubes. Cook them in boiling, salted water for 6 minutes. Drain, cool and refrigerate until ready to use.
Heat about 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or griddle. Add a chopped red onion and cook about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the cold potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have a good crust and the onions are almost burned, 16-18 minutes. This makes about 6 servings so double the recipe if you're having more guests.
