Ingredients
Method
- Preheat your oven to 400 F. You may need 2 sheet pans depending on their size, I use one large sheet pan. Just make sure the potatoes are in one single layer. You can use a large baking dish as well.
- Add the cubed potatoes onto your sheet pan and drizzle them with the olive oil. Sprinkle over the salt and black pepper and toss with your hands so every potato is coated. Then dollop the potatoes with the sliced butter. Make sure you spread the butter over evenly. I like using cold butter so it melts into the potatoes they bake.
- Spread over the sprigs of thyme. You can use dried thyme as well. If you choose to add the smoke paprika sprinkle it over at the end. Then place your sheet pan in the oven. It can take anywhere from 35-45 minutes for the potatoes to bake through. Check them after 30 minutes.
- If you feel that the oven is too hot and your potatoes are starting to char too much before cooking through you can reduce the temperature to 370F.
- The potatoes should have a caramelized shell that's a golden brown and they should be fully cooked through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Variations.
You can add rosemary, oregano or parsley to these potatoes. I also add a mixture of fresh herbs at times. Do what goes best with your main dish.
While I love the simplicity of salt and pepper, I've added other spiced like cumin or smoked paprika to complement the potatoes at times.
Using a high quality butter really goes a long way. The better the butter, the less like it is to burn in the oven. The olive oil also helps keep the butter form burning.
Cook time variation:
If you're in pinch, or want to serve larger potatoes but don't want to wait an hour plus for them to cook, you can par boil the potatoes before putting them on the sheet pan with all the butter and seasoning. That will take the worry of serving undercooked potatoes out of your mind and help cut the bake time by at least 10-15 minutes depending on the size of potatoes.
You can add garlic cloves with the with the skin still on so they roast alongside the potatoes. You can use the roasted garlic to make garlic bread or serve them with the potatoes, or make a garlic butter. All in the same pan!