Ready to go into the oven.

My husband and kids are out front riding bikes and scooters and I’m in the kitchen juicing lemons.  It’s a beautiful day here and I’m looking to make a quick & simple dinner of pork chops with mustard roasted potatoes.

 Two of my favorite ingredients have to be garlic and fresh lemons.  I always have a big bowl of lemons ready to go in my kitchen so I can add juice or zest to something I’m making.  Usually, I pull from my pantry to make side dishes or to make an entree and these potatoes are no exception.  I’m using a wonderful stone ground mustard from the pantry but you can use any good Dijon mustard you may have on hand.

Speaking of the pantry…be sure to dig out any of those specialty condiments you received in last year’s Christmas foodie basket.  You know, the one that had the miniscule package of sesame seed crackers in it?!  More often than not there is a jar of flavored mustard in there that you haven’t used yet.  And, if you’ve got spare time today,  there are some interesting books on Amazon on making your own mustard and using various types of mustard in different recipes.    My favorite is the one by Michele Anna Jordan called:  The Good Cook’s Book of Mustard:  With More Than 100 Recipes.  Definately a “spare time”  pursuit.

Mustard-Garlic Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs red-skinned potatoes (fingerlings would work well too)

Non-stick vegetable spray

1/2 cup stone-ground mustard (Dijon would do nicely)

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray roasting pan with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

Cut potatoes into wedges.  Whisk together next 6 ingredients in medium-sized bowl.  Add potato wedges to bowl.  Season with Kosher salt and black pepper.

Spread potatoes on roasting pan in single layer.  Place potatoes on rack in upper third of oven.  Roast for 25-30 minutes or until crust forms on the outside of the potato and they are fork-tender.  Carefully watch potatoes to be sure mustard “vinaigrette” does not burn.

Note:  These are lovely served cold the next day atop salad greens.

4 side dish servings

Ready to go into the oven.

Here’s a super quick side dish to make to go alongside tonight’s dinner.  It takes literally minutes to put together and once it’s in the oven you’re free to finish up your main dish, get little hands washed  for dinner or even set the table.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs red-skinned potatoes (try to purchase potatoes that are the same size so you’ll get uniform roasting)

1 medium red onion, cut into large chunks

2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp chopped, flat leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Method:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Quarter potatoes and place into medium-sized mixing bowl.  Add onions into bowl and toss with extra-virgin olive oil.  Add parsley, salt and pepper and mix again.  Spread potato-onion mixture onto a baking sheet.  Roast in 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until the edges turn golden .  You can use the tines of a fork to test for doneness on the inside.