Basque Potatoes

Potatoes are one of those foods which is exceeded in it's variety of uses only by chicken and ground beef.  As I ponder all the dishes I have made using the humble spud I picture Forrest Gump's friend Bubba as he spews his litany of shrimp dishes.  Baked, mashed, oven roasted, oven fried, french fried, au gratined, scalloped, with roasts, in soup, in cold potato salad, in hot potato salad. You get the picture. To not have potatoes every other night as a side dish takes herculean restraint on my part. And now that there are so many more varieties available...well, it's just frickin' endless. But Basque potatoes was a new one for me. As I did some research on the dish I found, of course, that there are endless ways to prepare this dish that ranged from stove top to oven, with a variety of herbs and spices. Too many choices gave me a headache.  I decided to stick with the Farm Journal recipe with a few tweaks of my own. And, if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty darn yummy. (This recipe is from Family Favorites from Country Kitchens published in 1973 by Farm Journal.)

Ingredients

1 TBS.  butter

1 TBS. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup shredded carrot

2 cloves garlic grated or minced

2 cups chicken broth

2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1" cubes

1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

chopped fresh Italian parsley

Saute onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in the butter and oil until very tender. Add the chicken broth, potatoes, salt and pepper to pan. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Remove cover and add herbs and paprika. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until broth reduces and thickens. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Notes:This is an excellent side dish for oven fried chicken that does not afford the opportunity to make gravy.  These potatoes come equipped with their own. And since there is no flour or milk it is half way to being figure friendly. Enjoy!