My mother used to make parsleyed potatoes whenever we had the outdoor grill fired up. She’d wrap all the ingredients in aluminum foil and toss it on the back of the grill, and by the time the rest of the grilled items were ready to eat, so were the potatoes.
Later when I had roommates in State College, I’d often make a version of the same recipe but in the oven. It was a sure-fire success every time. Of course, in those days my mother used dried parsley flakes and butter (or a butter substitute), and I followed suit. Later on, as I continued to make the recipe, I discovered the joys of fresh parsley, something that I don’t think was available in the Richland grocery stores in the 1960s. And once I glommed on to extra virgin olive oil, the recipe’s transformation was complete.
These days I make parsleyed potatoes quite often during the colder months of the year. The kind of potato doesn’t seem to matter much; I’ve had success with red potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, and even good old Idaho baking potatoes. I never peel the potatoes. Sometimes I like to vary the recipe by adding chickpeas or mushrooms to the casserole dish. There are no fixed amounts in the ingredients list because I just use however much seems right at the time, but generally as I’m cooking just for myself, two medium potatoes and a small to medium onion seem to work fine. And I’m very generous with the parsley and black pepper. Sometimes I grind the pepper at the end and don’t bother stirring so there’s a nice coating of pepper on the top. I add the tablespoon of water just to make sure the potatoes are steamed and the casserole doesn’t dry up.
Leftovers keep for a couple days in the fridge.
Ingredients
Potatoes (red, gold, or baking, whichever you have on hand)
Onion (one small to medium is usually enough)
Parsley (fresh is preferred but dried flakes will do in a pinch)
Olive oil
Black Pepper (preferably from a pepper mill)
Salt
1 Tablespoon (approximately) of water
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350° F.
- Chop the potatoes into roughly one inch pieces, maybe slightly larger than if you were making home fries
- Chop the onion coarsely
- Chop the parsley coarsely
- Combine the potatoes, onion, parsley, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a casserole dish and mix so that everything is coated with the oil
- Add the water
- Top off with one or two pats of butter (optional if you want to keep it vegan)
- Bake, covered, in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes (or a bit longer) depending on your tenderness preference
