A Sprinkling of Sage this Christmas
Sage and Potatoes
Sage and potatoes – a match made in heaven? We certainly think so – that’s why we have enlisted the help of award winning food writer Aoife Cox aka The Daily Spud. Since 2012, Aoife has been a contributing editor for John and Sally McKennas’ Irish Food Guide and has written food features for the Irish edition of the Sunday Times. Her writing has also appeared in The Irish Times and recipes have been included in a number of books, including “Farmhouse Cheeses of Ireland”. She can also often be found judging at food awards, including the Great Taste Awards finals in the UK. Her expertise in the potato department, combined with our love of all things Sage has resulted in this yuletide recipe from us to you.
Many thanks to Aoife for permission to reproduce this recipe. We think you will agree that Sage and Spuds are a winning combination!
Sage and Onion Roasted Baby Potatoes
You’ll need:
- 800g baby potatoes (or use larger potatoes if that’s what you have)
- salt
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 3 tblsp olive oil (or use rapeseed oil)
- bunch of fresh sage leaves (I used around 40 small (2-3cm long) leaves)
- 6-8 small cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
- 2 tblsp sunflower seeds
- 1 medium onion, around 150g, sliced into 2-3cm lengths
- coarse salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- grated parmesan (optional)
You’ll also need:
- One or two roasting tins, large enough to accommodate the potatoes in a single layer
The Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 200C
- Scrub the potatoes and, leaving the skins on, halve any larger ones so that you have roughly even-sized pieces (or just chop larger potatoes into approx. 2cm chunks). Rinse well.
- Bring a pot of around 1.5l water of the boil, add 2 tsp salt, a bay leaf (if using) and the potato chunks. Bring back to the boil and then simmer for about 6-7 minutes. Drain well and let then sit, covered by a tea-towel for around 5 minutes to absorb some steam.
- While the potatoes are drying off, add the olive oil to your roasting tin and place in the oven to heat. Remove after 3-4 minutes, and toss the heated oil with the potatoes, sage leaves, garlic cloves and sunflower seeds. Return the lot to your roasting tin and place in the oven for around 20 minutes. Toss with the sliced onion and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden. Sprinkle with coarse salt and black pepper to taste plus a little grated parmesan if you like and serve as a side to pork or poultry or enjoy as a warm salad along with some greens.
The Variations:
- Replace some of the potatoes with small chunks of butternut squash added to the tin at the start of roasting. Once cooked, toss with some blue cheese and baby spinach.
The Results:
- Serves around 4 as a side dish
