Roast potatoes are life.
They’re the best food in the whole wide world and I cannot even think about having Christmas (or any Sunday lunch or roast dinner) without them. I normally like to allow myself about 10 to eat (just me) so I would usually make a lot! I have to have these babies year round, whatever the weather, whatever the season. I genuinely love them that much.
This is not going to be a recipe in the traditional sense, as I won’t give you actual amounts or weights (completely depends on how many people you’re serving), it’s more about the method instead. I’m pretty fussy when it comes to my roasties! I’ve made them this way for years now and this method has never steered me wrong.
My potatoes must be crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, and they should be deep golden (even more so than in these photos). Some recipes like to add garlic and/or herbs but I just love them in their most natural form; fat, potatoes and salt. No more, no less.
Normally I use butter (with a little vegetable oil to avoid burning butter) to cook my potatoes in, but at Christmas it’s all about the goose fat. They just make the potatoes so wonderfully crisp on the outside and give a delightful flavour. It’s super indulgent, but it’s Christmas after all right?! I haven’t been able to find goose fat in Peru so sadly I’ll be using butter this year, but I’m just so happy to be eating them!!
I hope this method gives you the best roast potatoes for your Christmas meal and then for the rest of your future years.
Roast potatoes forever!
INGREDIENTS
Potatoes – you need a floury potato and in England we normally use King Edward (I think). In Peru I normally go for a Papa Yungay, but I’ve had varied results, and sometimes I feel like they’re a bit more solid and better for wedges instead. I’m going to keep hunting for the perfect Peruvian potato for roasting.
Butter (or goose fat if you have it)
A little oil – flavourless vegetable, or olive if you prefer
Salt – use a good one. Maldon in England or Sal de Maras in Peru.
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 200C and prepare a baking dish that will fit all of your potatoes comfortably. If they’re too tightly packed they won’t crisp up as well.
2. Wash, peel and cut your potatoes into even sizes. If they’re large I’d cut them into quarters, and if they’re medium I’d cut them into thirds probably. It doesn’t matter if some are a little smaller, they’ll just go crispier in the oven!
3. Pop the potatoes into a pan and just cover them with water. Put on a medium heat until it boils and then simmer until the potatoes are parboiled. This means they should be fluffy on the outside but only slightly cooked on the inside. Keep an eye on them while they’re cooking, because you don’t want them to cook too much. If you put a fork or skewer into one it should go in fairly easily, but the potato should not fall apart. If the outer edge is still smooth, they need a little longer.
4. While the potatoes are cooking pop some butter/goose fat into the baking dish with a drizzle of oil to stop the butter from burning. You want to make sure the fat is going to fully cover the bottom of the dish once it’s all melted down. Place in the oven to get all bubbly and hot, ready for the potatoes. Again, keep an eye on the dish so that the butter doesn’t burn or turn too dark.
5. Once the potatoes are parboiled you want to drain them in a colander and leave them in there for a minute to make sure the water is all gone. Pop the potatoes back into the pan, put the lid on and give them a shake to rough up their edges. This will help with the crispy outsides.
6. Take the baking dish out and carefully place the potatoes in the hot, sizzling butter. Make sure to turn the potatoes so that they’re completely covered. Put the dish of potatoes back in the oven and leave them in for about 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes (this will completely depend on how many potatoes you have in your dish), but make sure you turn them once in the middle. You just need to make sure that the outsides are golden and crispy.
7. Once the potatoes are done, take the dish out of the oven and sprinkle or grind over some salt. Serve them up and prepare to be deliriously happy for the rest of the evening!
Sometimes I roast up a batch to eat on their own. Is that wrong? If so, I don’t want to be right!
The Little Edition 