Kay's Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 pounds potatoes

4 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tsp coarse mustard

1/4 tsp salt

fresh parsley

paprika powder
Optional: 1/2 bell pepper

Optional: 1/2 onion

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).
I peeled two pounds potatoes. Go for potatoes that hold their shape! Cut them in large chunks. Making them smaller will definitely reduce the cooking time, but I just like how a big bowl of uneven potato chunks looks on the table.

Give them a really good wash; this will remove the surface starch and prevent them from becoming one big, unhappy potato clump

Grab yourself a big bowl and fork (or get fancy and grab a whisk).
Pour in 4 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp salt, a really good pinch of black pepper, a grated or finely chopped large garlic clove, 1/2 tsp onion powder and a heaping tsp coarse (or regular) mustard. The mustard adds a really nice tang.

Now pour in the chicken (beef or vegetable) broth and give it a twirl.
A lot of people will parboil the potatoes. Not me. I let the oven—and the chicken broth—do the work for me. It works so well.

Go for a roasting tray or use a baking dish with a fairly thick bottom. You don’t want to layer the potatoes, but they do have to fit snugly together.

Put the potatoes in there, pour the dressing on top and get your hands in there. Toss everything around until all the potatoes are coated. The rest of the dressing will lurk at the bottom, preventing your potatoes from drying out, providing them with extra flavor, and giving them a little extra tenderness during the cooking process.

All is fair in love cooking, and in my opinion, ‘artificially’ boosting the color a bit is definitely fair game! It’s simple. Sprinkle a little paprika powder through a small sieve; this will quickly deepen the roasting color, which boosts the ‘ohhhhh‘ and ‘ahhhhh‘ level at the dinner table. I sprinkled a generous amount of coarse sea salt on top as well because I just like the crunch it gives. Pop them in a preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Now, this is completely optional, but it adds so much flavor. I chopped up 1/2 a red bell pepper and half a large onion. After 25 minutes, take out the potatoes, flip them over and just sprinkle the bell peppers and onions in with the potatoes. It will not only flavor the potatoes but also the liquid in there, distributing the flavors more evenly. The liquid will have vaporized by the end of the cooking time, but the flavor stays.

Put them back in the oven for another 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and fork tender.
All that’s left to do now is sprinkle a generous amount of fresh parsley on top and they’re done. Fully ready to be served and devoured.

Becky's notes: I didn't add the sea salt or the red pepper, and they were delicious. I used russets.