The Perfect Roast Potato

The benefit of a long weekend, is time to fine tune some old favourites and share them with you!

Who doesn’t like a Roast potato? Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, indulgent and moreish. And great roast potatoes are not on any health food list – just go with it and indulge once again.

For me fat makes the best roasties, I find them lighter and crisper, but you can use oil too, which can change the profile a bit.  After doing some research I find that Beef fat (dripping – don’t shoot me) gives the best result. Goose or duck fat, the tastiest, with Pork fat close behind. If you go down the oil line then rice bran oil and sunflower oils are great. Olive oil is next with Peanut oil coming in next. Try to match the flavour and richness of your roast spud to the meal you are pairing it with…..

The absolute secret to the crunchiness of a roast potato is increasing the surface area, a large round potato will never be as crunchy as small potato pieces with many sides and a roughed up exterior..  So this is my method, which may seem fiddly, but will give you the best roast spud ever…

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200C.

Peel your potatoes and halve or quarter depending on the size – remember, the more surfaces, the greater the crunch. Boil them in salted water for 10 mins and drain well. Put the lid on and vigorously shake the pot. This will make the outsides all rough and fluffy.

In the meantime. Put the fat/oil in a roasting dish and place in the oven to heat up. It should almost be smoking.

Very carefully add the potatoes one by one to the fat, turning them to coat them. The first few will make the fat spit, so be careful. If you have any sloppy bits of potato “mash” left in the saucepan, dollop that in too.. This really is a labour of love, but worth the extra effort.

Once they are covered in fat, sprinkle generously with salt and return to the oven, turn down the heat to 180C and roast for 30 – 45 mins. Until the potatoes are golden brown.. Check the seasonings and serve as soon as you can, sitting around makes them lose some of their crunch.

These roasted potatoes are guaranteed to have everyone queuing for seconds!

Enjoy!