Pasta with potatoes

Seems sinful, doesn't it? The utter anti-thesis of the no-white diet that I've observed about 75% of the time for the last decade. But sometimes you just have to indulge.

Most recipes for a pasta with potatoes involves a nice linguine, pesto, some sort of bean or pea and peeled red potatoes. But the inspiration for me was this tidy little package of Tasteful Selections Honey Gold potatoes I picked up at Publix last week. These potatoes have a beautiful yellow center and have a delicate texture. I'm not the biggest fan of pesto (and certainly not of the storebought pesto I keep on hand "just in case"), so I didn't want to overpower these potatoes with that flavor. I wanted to highlight it. I also had some conchiglie from Lazzaroli that I thought would be the perfect accompaniment (inspired by an entree I had at City House that was not as good as it could have been). So I decided to experiment, but keep it simple. And it worked!

Pasta with Roasted Potatoes in Truffle Oil
serves 2

1/2 pound of Tasteful Selections Honey Gold potatoes (or baby Yukon Gold or fingerling potatoes)
1/2 pound shaped pasta (conchiglie or orecchiette or another small but sturdy shape)
~4 tbps truffle oil (to taste)
1 tsp minced garlic (fresh or pre-minced)
~a handful of finely grated parmigiano reggiano
sea salt, pepper and herbs de Provence (optional) to taste

Preheat your oven to 400F. Wash and cut the potatoes (skin on) into small, ~1/2 inch cubes. Transfer to a roasting dish and drizzle with ~1 tablespoon or so of truffle oil. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 40 minutes.

When there's about 20 minutes left for roasting, start to boil the pasta. The pasta for this dish should not be al dente but should instead be soft.

Once the potatoes have roasted, remove the pan from the oven and stir in the garlic (it will cook slightly when it meets the roasting dish). When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it and add to the potatoes in the dish. Stir in the cheese and add more truffle oil, salt, pepper and a dash of herbs de Provence.

I think the truffle oil was the perfect complement to the potatoes and the soft pasta provided just enough of a difference in texture to make it interesting. If you have some on hand, roasted or sauteed oyster or shiitake mushrooms would also taste wonderful mixed in with this dish.

This is simple and easy to make, but packed with flavor (particularly when you use good potatoes and good cheese). If you're in Nashville, Tom over at Lazzaroli doesn't always have conchiglie on hand, but call ahead and he may put some back for you. It's really the perfect pasta for this meal.