My Crunchy Roast Potatoes..

 

At this time of year there are numerous articles telling you how to cook the ‘perfect roast potatoes’. So here’s my tuppence-worth

I don’t bother with goose fat, polenta, flour or anything else. This is how I’ve done my roasties for years, and to me, it’s an almost fool-proof method.

When I was starting off,  I used to worry about how to get the potatoes done at the same time as everything else – and truthfully when you’ve cracked that, you’ll be laughing. Once I realised that the joint/chicken/whatever could sit very happily, covered in foil and a clean tea towel, for at least an hour, it all became remarkably easy. My advice, for what it’s worth is to keep everything waiting until your potatoes and vegetables are done to perfection. Roast potatoes, and many veggies, don’t improve from waiting.

My friends and family like my roast potatoes so much, that I rarely bother doing mash on big occasions.

If you fancy something even easier, and deliciously more-ish try my crush-hot potatoes here: https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/crushed-hot-potatoes/

Anyway, let’s have a go..

EQUIPMENT:

• saucepan, to boil the potatoes
• heavy shallow baking tray (non-stick if possible)
• fish-slice, or similar, for turning the potatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes (duh!) I like the Maris Piper variety best for these, and they’re readily available in most supermarkets. Roosters are also excellent. Quantities: well that’s always a problem. It’s almost impossible to over-cater, so I’m going to say 1-2 medium potatoes per person. Once you’ve made these, you’ll be able to gauge more easily. And bear in mind that old show-biz adage – ‘always leave them wanting more..’ !
• Cooking oil with a high burn threshold – olive oil is NOT suitable for this – I use either Sunflower oil or, more recently, our lovely local Rape-seed oil.
• Maldon salt
• Pepper
• Sweet paprika.

METHOD:

• Peel your potatoes, and cut each medium sized one into 2-3 irregular-shaped pieces (the more edges you have the crunchier they’ll be) Try not to cut them too small. They should be roughly the same  size.
• Rinse them in cold water, then bring them to the boil and give them 10 minutes until a sharp knife shows them to be just on the verge of being tender. Don’t worry about them being cooked through at this stage.
• Heat the oven to about 200 Fan.
• Put the baking tray into the heated oven.
• Drain the potatoes, then return them to the saucepan, and put them back on the heat.
• Shake them thoroughly several times, so that they turn over, and each side becomes roughly fluffy
• Carefully remove the baking tray and put it onto a heat-proof surface. Immediately add 2 tablespoonfuls of oil and tilt it so that the oil spreads over the whole surface of the tray.

• Tip the potatoes out onto the tray, and turn them over once or twice until the potato pieces have been oiled on most sides.
• Sprinkle over some of the salt, and then a scatter of the paprika, and pop then into the oven for 15-20 minutes. Then check them, and turn them over if necessary.
• Continue cooking – 30-40 minutes usually does the trick – until the Roast potatoes are crispy and golden brown.
• Serve immediately.

NOTES:

• If, after 20 minutes or so, you think your roasties are not browning quickly enough, put the heat up about 220 degrees Fan, and give them 10 minutes more.
• I can’t remember why I use that sprinkle of Paprika, except that I’ve always used it – I think it contributes to the colour of the potatoes. You certainly can’t taste it.
• If you can, use a non-stick baking tray, and give the potatoes a rough shake every so often to ensure that they don’t stick.