Skillet Potatoes With Rosemary and Onion
Quartered red potatoes and onion browned in a pan over fire. A car camp side that fills the gap next to whatever else you cooked.
- calories
- 260
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 37
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Red potatoes | 1 1/2 lb | skin on, quartered small so they cook through |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet onion | 1 large | rough chopped |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Rosemary | 1 tsp | fresh if you have it, dried works |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Set a heavy skillet over the coals or on a grate above a fire burned down past flame. Let it heat a few minutes.
- Add the oil, then the potatoes cut side down. Leave them alone for five minutes to take color.
- Add the onion, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Stir.
- Cover with foil or a lid and cook 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every five so nothing welds to the pan.
- Done when a knife slides into a potato with no resistance. Pull the pan off the heat before the onions go past brown.
This started as an oven recipe and an oven is not something you carry. A cast iron skillet over coals does the same job as long as you accept that the heat comes from one side instead of all around. That is what the lid and the stirring are for: the cover traps enough heat to cook the interiors while the pan face browns the outsides.
Cut the potatoes smaller than you would at home. Coals run hotter and less evenly than an oven, and a big quarter will scorch on the outside while the middle stays raw. Whole potatoes and onions keep for days without a cooler, so this is a fine day-three dinner, not just a first-night one.
Packing
Potatoes and onion travel whole in a paper bag, not plastic, or they sweat and rot. Cut them in camp. Rosemary, salt, and pepper go in one small tin.
Variations
- A can of white beans stirred in at the end turns the side into the meal.
- Swap the rosemary for smoked paprika and a chopped clove of garlic.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/roasted-red-potatoes-with-rosemary-and-onion