Simple and fresh

I recently went to a wonderful cooking demonstration at Central Market taught by Virginia Willis, a lovely French-trained chef from the South who is also a culinary television producer. The title of the demonstration was "The Flavors of Fresh Herbs," and it was absolutely delightful in that it tantalized every one of my senses. Luckily, I got to partake of all the food Virginia prepared using lots and lots of fresh herbs, and, oh!, what a party in my mouth! Virginia says she mostly uses fresh herbs in all her cooking, and now I am a firm believer that fresh herbs make all the difference.

Take these potatoes, for example. Regular, old little red potatoes. But stick a fresh bay leaf or two inside and roast them for a while and you've got the most perfect little almost sweet-scented potatoes ever. I never knew what bay leaves really tasted like until I stuck these in the oven only to find the smell of bay permeating the rest of my little apartment.

Before:

Think those leaves in the jar can do that??? Virginia noted that "even a semi-fresh bay leaf several weeks old from the fridge will have more flavor" than those "brown, tasteless dried bay leaves" you've had sitting in your spice cabinet for--what, 3 or 4 years now? Duh! How can they be good?!

After:

(Imagine: the smell of bright little bay leaves wafting through your house...)

Indeed, I have learned my lesson well. Make no mistake about it: fresh is ALWAYS best. Just try and see for yourself.

Bay Roasted Potatoes

Adapted from a recipe by Virginia Willis from Bon Appetit, Y'all

8 medium red-skinned or Yukon gold potatoes (or double that number if you're using small ones like I did)

16 to 20 fresh bay leaves (again, double the number if using small potatoes)

1/2 cup olive oil

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

sea salt, for finishing

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice each potato, stopping each cut 1/4 of an inch from the bottom, so the potato is sliced, but still intact. Insert 1 to 2 bay leaves into each potato.

Place the potatoes in a large roasting pan. Drizzle oil over the potatoes and toss to coat. Season the potatoes with kosher salt and pepper.

Roast the potatoes until tender when pierced with the point of a knife, about 1 hour. Season with sea salt and additional freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.

Serves 4 to 6.