Recipe: Sara's Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary (Patate Saltate all'aglio e Rosmarino)

SARA'S POTATOES WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY
(PATATE SALTATE ALL'AGLIO E ROSMARINO)

"This is the dish my daughter turns to whenever she gets homesick for Tuscany--which she does almost any time she's not actually there. It's probably the first thing she ever learned to cook on her own--one of those little nothing recipes that parents can use to encourage self-sufficiency in their offspring."

2 pounds waxy red-skinned potatoes
Salt to taste
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 or 4 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat blade of a knife
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until they are tender enough just to be pierced with a sharp knife. Remove from the heat and drain. As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and slice about 1/4 inch thick.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the sliced potatoes, garlic cloves, and the leaves stripped from the rosemary branches. Turn frequently with a spatula to keep the starchy potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan. (Once they start to brown this is less of a problem.)

Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring and turning frequently, until they are thoroughly brown and tender. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 6 servings
Excerpted from Flavors of Tuscany by Nancy Jenkins
Copyright 1998 by Nancy Harmon Jenkins. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.