My Recipe Box - Scored Potatoes

 February 2026 - Toronto ON

I'm 100% Irish, and I could not live without potatoes, any which way!! My mom's potato cakes, colcannon, fries (never frozen), roast potatoes, patatas bravas, jacket, loaded baked, au gratin, mashed, rosti, poutine, smashed, Jackie's foil, aloo gobi, whatever!

Patatas Bravas in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam

So I was excited to find a new recipe!

What Are Scored Potatoes?

Scored potatoes are whole or halved potatoes that are lightly cut in a crosshatch pattern on the surface before baking. These shallow cuts allow butter and seasonings to seep deep into the flesh, creating incredible flavor and extra-crispy tops as they roast. It’s a simple technique that transforms humble potatoes into something special—crispy, savory, and completely irresistible.

Ingredients

For the Potatoes:

6–8 small to medium Yukon Gold or red potatoes

3 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon paprika (smoked or sweet)

½ teaspoon onion powder

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, or parsley)

Optional Additions:

Grated Parmesan cheese (for a golden crust)

Crumbled bacon for topping

Scallions for topping

Sour cream or ranch for dipping

How to Make Simple Sheet Pan Scored Potatoes

1. Preheat the Oven

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or lightly grease it with oil.

2. Prepare the Potatoes

Wash and scrub the potatoes thoroughly. Cut them in half lengthwise (keep them whole if they’re small).

Place them cut-side up on a cutting board, then using a sharp knife, gently score the flesh in a crisscross pattern about ⅛ inch deep—without cutting all the way through.

3. Season Generously

In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter or olive oil, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

Brush the mixture generously over the scored surfaces, making sure it seeps into the cuts.

4. Bake to Crispy Perfection

Arrange the potatoes cut-side up on the prepared sheet pan.

Bake for 35–45 minutes, depending on their size, until the tops are golden and crispy and the insides are soft and fluffy. My oven requires an hour.

Halfway through baking, brush them with a little more butter for a richer flavor.

5. Garnish and Serve

Once out of the oven, sprinkle the potatoes with fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or rosemary.

If desired, add Parmesan or bacon bits while still hot so they melt slightly.

Serve warm as a side dish or appetizer with your favorite dipping sauce.

My Recipe Box - Irish Soda Bread

My mom would often make soda bread, usually with raisins. 

But who knew that there was a Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread????

Just like the bagpipes weren't invented by the Scots, the chemical reaction that makes Soda Bread what it is, wasn't invented by the Irish. The earliest reference to using soda ash in baking bread seems to be credited to American Indians using it to leaven their bread.
However, as the Scots have made the bagpipe their instrument, the Irish have made Soda Bread theirs. Not by choice, but by a state of poverty that made it the easiest and least expensive bread to put on the table. The earliest recipe found to date in Ireland is from 1836. 

All recipes for traditional soda bread contain flour, baking soda, sour milk (buttermilk) and salt. That's it!!!

I've adapted this for gluten free and it is quite good. You can make it savory or sweet.

This photo has a cheese on the left and cranberry on the right.

If baking gluten free let your bread rest, covered at room temperature, for 20 minutes before baking.


CHEESE AND HERBS IRISH SODA BREAD
Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour gluten free
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs - rosemary, basil, thyme, Italian seasoning, onion powder etc
4 ounces medium or sharp cheddar cheese shredded
1 cup buttermilk - add 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar to regular milk
1 large egg see note below
1 tablespoon melted butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425˚Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and sprinkle it lightly with flour.


In a medium-large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add the herbs and cheese. Stir again. Run through the dough with your fingers to break apart any cheese that might have stuck together.
Combine the egg and the buttermilk in a small bowl or cup and stir until well combined.
 Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk and egg. Stir just until all of the flour is incorporated..

Turn the dough out onto a work surface that has been generously dusted with flour. Turn the dough several times to coat with flour (I like to use a bench scraper for this), then form into a round loaf. If the dough is sticky and difficult to shape, add a little extra flour to the work surface.
Transfer the loaf to the prepared sheet pan. With a sharp serrated knife and cut an X on top of the loaf.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil if getting too brown and bake for another 8–10 minutes. The top should be a nice golden brown.
Brush the loaf with melted butter and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Slice thick and serve with butter.

VARIATIONS

Cranberries and orange zest

Raisins

Raisins and cinnamon

Blueberry lemon

Chopped apricots and orange zest

Caraway seeds 

Poppyseeds and lemon

Cheddar bacon

Cheddar bacon and jalapenos

Jalapenos

Scallions

Spinach - for a natural green colour!!

You could swap out the egg for a 1/4 cup of applesauce or banana if making it sweet.

UPDATES 

Sep 2021 - I tried this gluten free recipe and it is also good, but a bigger loaf.

Feb 2023 - no eggs Chef Alina

INGREDIENTS
500 grams all purpose flour or 1:1 gluten free flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons sugar
56 grams butter ½ stick
160 grams raisins or currents
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
392 grams buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS


Place 1/2 stick butter in the freezer.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
.Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend.
Remove butter from the freezer and, using a box grater , shred the butter into the flour mixture and quickly rub it in until coarse crumbs form and it is evenly distributed.

Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.
Add buttermilk to dough.
Using a wooden spoon (or your hands), gently fold the dough together until it is too stiff to stir. With lightly floured hands on a lightly floured surface, work the dough into a ball as best as you can. Knead the dough for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Do not overwork the dough or your bread will be tough and chewy.
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Using a very sharp knife, score an X into the top. **Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45 minutes. Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top.
Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with your favorite spreads & toppings.
Cover and store the bread at room temperature for 2 days or well wrapped in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I'm joining the Scavenger Hunt Sunday sponsored by Ashley.

This week's items are:

1. Lucky
2. Irish
3. Daylight
4. Pot of Gold
5. Clover

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

LUCKY -  I am so lucky to be able to travel as much as I do with my husband, we both enjoy going different places and trying lots of food! We've been away from home since the end of November and it's been an amazing journey.
I made this collage a couple of weeks ago for my Travel Timeline page.

IRISH - I'm Irish, born in Dublin!! If I was at home I could find lots of Irish things or I could post a photo of me......or my Irish passport...

Instead I'm going with a collage I did about one of our trips to Ireland.

DAYLIGHT - Arizona doesn't do Daylight Saving Tine so this was on TV to remind people.

POT OF GOLD - I took this guy's photo in the ghost town of Calico last week.

CLOVER - for some reason I had a hard time with this until my husband said just use a photo of a shamrock. This was a banner in a shop in Cottonwood AZ this week.

Irish Book Awards Shortlist 2012

The Irish Publishing News recently announced the Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards Shortlist.

The Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year
Solace by Belinda McKeon (Picador)
On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry (Faber) -a favourite writer of mine
The Cold Eye of Heaven by Christine Dwyer Hickey (Atlantic)
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry (Random House) - I just bought it
The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright (Random House) - read it, didn't care for it
Mistaken by Neil Jordan (John Murray)

RTÉ Radio 1’s The John Murray Show Listeners’ Choice Award:
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (Corsair)
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt (Granta)
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran (Ebury)
How the Light Gets in by Mary McEvoy (Hachette Ireland)
The Club by Christy O’Connor (Penguin Ireland)
My Dad was Nearly James Bond by Des Bishop (Penguin Ireland)

The Ireland AM Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year:
A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black (Mantle)
The Bloody Meadow by William Ryan (Mantle)
Bloodland by Alan Glynn (Faber) -loved it
The Reckoning by Jane Casey (Ebury)
Taboo by Casey Hill (Simon & Schuster)
Absolute Zero Cool by Declan Burke (Liberties Press) - he has a great blog

Eason Irish Popular Fiction Book of the Year:

The Time of my Life by Cecilia Ahern (HarperCollins)
All For You by Sheila O’Flanagan (Headline) -a guilty favourite author of mine
Me and My Sisters by Sinead Moriarty (Penguin Ireland) -added to my TBR list
Love and Marriage by Patricia Scanlan (Transworld Ireland) - definitely on my TBR list
NAMA Mia! by Ross O’Carroll Kelly (Penguin Ireland)
The Pink Ladies Club by Emma Hannigan (Poolbeg Press)

All photography on this post at Junk Boat Travels are under copyright. If you would like to use any of my photographs please contact me first.