Roasted Red Potatoes with Lemon Thyme Butter featuring Leah Brakke of Black Gold Farms

So I always loved red potatoes. I mean, you can’t go wrong. But it wasn’t until North Dakota, I realized how amazing red potatoes can be… I don’t know if it is climate or what, but seriously the red potatoes grown in the Red River Valley are delicious. Leah and her brothers are taking over as fourth generation on their farm in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Black Gold Farms which started in the Red River Valley of North Dakota more than 80 years ago, now contains farms throughout the nation. Despite being stretched far and wide, their business remains family owned and operated. Red potatoes are so versatile, the uses are endless. I am sure there are dozens of roasted red potato recipes, but I gave this recipe a whirl and added some zip with some lemon thyme butter. 

Leah Brakke
Grand Forks, North Dakota

• When did you start farming? What brought you into farming?

My brothers & I are the 4^th generation on our farm. I’ve always worked on the farm during high school & collage. I went and worked off the farm for about 8 years, but came back about 4 years ago. I came back because I knew there was a place for me, a need for my skills, and as much as I tried, I could never completely leave it.

• Are there any differences between your farm now and your farm when you were a kid? 

When I was young, all of our farming operations were within a bike ride of my house. Now, we have to get on an airplane.

But – we still can get to our Forest River farm, where it started, and where we still have operations on bikes.

• Who farms with you and what are their roles?

We have about 190 full time employees on our farm. We farm throughout the United States – but we’re still based out of North Dakota. My dad just technically stepped down as CEO – however, he’ll still be at the office everyday. My brother Eric took over as CEO, and my brother John, who lives in Arkansas is the COO. I manage all the marketing activities as well as take on a few sales responsibilities.

• What is one message you’d like to get across to the general public about what you do?

We’re not an average farming operation, and we know that. We have a substantial scale. However, at the end of the day, we are a family farm. We’re the 4^th generation of Halversons who own the farm, but we’re also a part of the many families that have helped us get to where we are. We are also a farming organization that works very hard, every day, to be better than we were yesterday, to give back to each local community where we work and live and to be leaders in progressing sustainability.

You can read more about Black Gold Farms on their website, give their Facebook page a LIKE, or tweet with them on Twitter @blackgoldfarms. You can also find more red potato recipes on Better With Reds. 

I love herb butters. They are a great way to preserve herbs without compromising their flavor. This herb butter is so simple to make and pairs nicely with these red potatoes. Feel free to leave the skins on, I peeled my potatoes because my husband is not a huge fan of the skins. (I swear sometimes he is worse than a child). AHEM, anyhow. These could be made on the grill too, but I made them in the oven! 

Roasted Red Potatoes with Lemon Thyme Butter

Print Recipe

• Author: Prairie Californian
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 40
• Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Potatoes

• 1 lb. red potatoes, thinly slice (about ¼” thick)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Season Salt
• pepper to taste
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Lemon Thyme Butter

• 1 stick butter
• 2 – 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

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Instructions

Lemon Thyme Butter

1. You can prepare Lemon Thyme Butter prior to when you are ready to use it.
2. Combine all ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until butter is creamy and ingredients are well mixed. Turn out onto parchment paper and form the butter into a cylinder shape. Roll up butter in parchment paper and store in freezer for several months.

Potatoes

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Put potatoes into a large bowl. Add the Lawry’s seasoning, pepper, and olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread sliced potatoes out on well greased baking pan. Roast in the oven until golden, about 30 -40 minutes total.
3. Ten minutes before the potatoes are done roasting, in a small skillet over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the herb butter. Add the garlic and cook until slightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Be sure butter does not brown. Remove from heat as soon as the garlic is done.
4. Transfer half of the roasted potatoes to a serving dish and drizzle with half of the herb butter and garlic mixture. Sprinkle with parmesan. Repeat with remaining half of potatoes.

This post is part of my Thirty Days of Food series where I am writing about food and farming for the entire month of November, to find out more about it all or how to follow along, visit my Thirty Days of Food page or click the photo below to find more great recipes with farmer features!