Skillet potatoes with spice mixture are perfectly crispy on the outside, yet perfectly soft on the inside. It is one of those recipes that become a regular staple in any household because the skillet potatoes are both delicious and simple to prepare.
If I had to describe this side dish in only three words, that would be easy, quick, and wonderful. I can stand for each word of my statement. It is indeed an easy recipe to make because it involves basic cooking skills such as chopping and mixing ingredients. To cook the potatoes, you have to wash and chop them in small dices. Then you spice it all up and they’re ready to be fried.
Is the skillet potatoes a quick recipe to make? Absolutely, once you add them to a hot skillet, just mix once in a while and they’re ready in about 15 minutes. In the meantime, you may browse our recipe catalog for a salad to accompany the fragrant crusty skillet potatoes. I think the perfect salad for fried potatoes must be refreshing with sour notes such as the country-style tomato salad, the creamy tomato salad, maybe the cucumber and radish salad, or the greeny arugula and tomato salad.
Finally, the skillet potatoes are simply wonderful as they are crispy yet soft on the inside, perfectly spiced, and can be combined with a wide variety of salads, sauces such as the tartar sauce, lemon sauce with yogurt, the famous tzatziki sauce, blue cheese dressing, and pickled veggies. What more can you expect from a dish? Don’t spare any more time and let’s cook the country-style skillet potatoes.
Ingredients for skillet potatoes
Well, it will take minimum effort and ingredients for maximum flavor and satisfaction. I consider it comfort food because the ingredients needed for the skillet potatoes are always stored in any kitchen, no matter the time of the year. As the title gives it all out, the main ingredient of the dish is the potato. You can choose any starchy potatoes, be it the Russet, red, or Yukon Gold. These are perfect as they will hold their shape during cooking and are delicious simply as they are.
The next necessary ingredients for the dish are the spices. You can free your imagination and play with the spices you’re mostly into. My first choice of flavors is smoked paprika, granulated garlic, and fresh rosemary needles. Salt and pepper are also important characters of this play, however, I like to add them in the end when the potatoes are almost done.
The last ingredient for a complete culinary adventure is, of course, olive oil. The oil will stick the spices to the potatoes and will make sure they soak in all the flavors and get brown beautifully.
Should you boil potatoes before frying them?
No. Although I know some people prefer to soften them a bit by pre-boiling the diced potatoes, I consider it a superfluous fussy step. This recipe is about comfort and simplicity. You don’t want to go through an additional cooking step that will make no difference in the plate. If you are concerned about the potatoes being cooked thoroughly, just chop the pieces relatively small – about 1/2 inch dice. Besides avoiding the pre-boiling step, smaller dices will cook faster and will soak in the flavor of the spices better.
How to cook the skillet potatoes?
Start the cooking process by washing the potatoes. Do not peel them as the skin of the potatoes will add extra crispiness to the dish. However, if the potatoes are old and the skin doesn’t look very well, you might consider peeling them.
Use a sharp knife to dice the potatoes, just like I said before, chop them in 1/2 inch dices. Run them through cold water a couple of times to rinse out the starch. Drain the water then sprinkle with the spices: 1 tbsp of smoked paprika, 1 tbsp of granulated garlic (you can use garlic powder as well), and the fresh rosemary needles. Coat with 3-4 tbsp of olive oil and stir it all well. Make sure the spices and the oil coat all the potato dices evenly.
Let the spiced-up potatoes sit for about 10 minutes to soak in the flavors. In the meantime, take your widest skillet and heat it up on the medium-high flame. Remember that we’ve already coated the potatoes in oil? Thus, do not use any more of it for frying. When the skillet is well hot, add in the potatoes dices and mix to cover well the skillet bottom. Mix once in a while. When about halfway through, add salt and pepper to taste.
You’re done cooking the crispy and delicious skillet potatoes. Serve them immediately as they are finger-licking when hot. Still, I guarantee the fried potatoes are delicious as hot as cold. Remember to serve them next to a salad, or maybe a succulent steak such as the pork steak. Enjoy your meal with your beloved ones!
Do you want your skillet potatoes crispy?
The secret to getting crispy fried potatoes is to add them to a very hot skillet. That way, the potatoes will not soak in the oil but brown up immediately. However, when you add the potatoes to a very hot surface, you risk burning them out. Therefore, remember to mix them more often than if on medium heat.
Also, to prepare crispy fried potatoes, do not cover the skillet with a lid. Let the steam evaporate as potatoes are cooking to prevent them from getting mushy and soggy.
Skillet Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium potatoes
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 spring rosemary fresh
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dice the potatoes with skin
- Heat up a large skillet on high flame
- Season the potato dices with spices and olive oil, mix well. Skip the salt and ground pepper
- Put the potato dices into the hot skillet and let it brown well. Mix once in a while
- Halfway through season with salt and pepper
- Whenever the dices are crispy outside yet soft inside, turn off the stove and serve
