Slab Potatoes

The night I made Pork Shoulder Western Style Ribs, I also needed several side dishes to accompany the ribs.  I chose to make slab potatoes as one of the sides.  This was an easy recipe to make, it is a recipe that children might enjoy helping to cook.

I scrubbed the outside of two large russet potatoes and sliced them into 3/8 inch slices.  Next, I sprayed a cookie sheet with cooking spray and placed the potato slices on the cookie sheet.  I brushed the top of the potato pieces with a little grape seed oil to keep them from drying out while cooking.  On top, I spread a little salt and pepper for seasoning and they were ready to cook.

I already had the oven heated to 375 degrees in convection mode to cook the ribs, so I just added the potatoes on a rack near the top of the oven and let them bake with the ribs.  When the ribs finished cooking after about 25 minutes, I checked the potatoes, but they were not quite finished, so I placed them back in the oven at 425 degrees for an additional 10 minutes while I prepared the rest of the dinner.

The finished potato slabs were a nice golden brown on top, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside.  Our only disappointment was that we were out of catsup, but we just used a little apple cider vinegar on top and we were ready to eat.

I read in our paper today about a school that makes a potato pizza where they use the slabs and then add toppings.  The cooks must bake the potatoes most of the way before they add the toppings, but the article wasn’t about how they make them, but about the types of food they make.  I may have to do some experiments with slabs.

Adventures In Food: Author: Kerry Howell