Perfect Roast Potatoes Recipes

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Peel the potatoes and cut in half; if very large, cut into quarters, or leave whole if they are small. Tip into a saucepan, cover with cold water, then bring to the boil. Set the timer and boil for exactly 2 mins. Drain the potatoes well, then toss in the colander to fluff up their surfaces, sprinkling over the flour as you go.
• Place a large, sturdy roasting tray over a fairly high heat, then tip in the fat and oil. When sizzling, lower in the potatoes carefully, then gently brown in the hot fat for about 5 mins so all the sides are covered with oil.
• Roast undisturbed for 20 mins, then remove from the oven and gently turn them over with a fish slice. Place the tray on the hob to heat the oil, then return to the oven and cook for another 20 mins. Turn again, putting the tray back on the hob to heat the oil. Give them a final 20 mins in the oven, by which time you should have perfect roast potatoes.

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
• Put the potatoes into a pan and just cover with water. Add a tablespoon of salt, cover with a lid, and bring to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes, until cooked (they will slide off when pierced with a knife). Drain thoroughly in a colander, then set the colander on top of the cooking pan and cover the potatoes with a tea towel. Set aside for 10 minutes to steam dry.
• Meanwhile, put the vegetable oil, dripping, or duck fat into a roasting tin and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Gently toss the potatoes around a little in the colander. Tip the potatoes into the tin of hot fat and give it a shake to spread the potatoes out in the pan, but don't worry about turning them. Put the tin into the oven and roast for 20 minutes. At this point give the potatoes a turn and then return them to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and serve.

CRISPY ROASTED POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
• Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they're uniformly sized. I cut mine to be a little smaller than a ping-pong ball.
• Wash the potatoes in cold water to remove any extra starch then add them to a large empty pot. Boil water enough water to cover the potatoes well (about 2 inches higher than the potatoes) pour over the potatoes, salt the water, and parboil for 5-7 minutes, then drain in a strainer and leave dry.
• Once dry, gently shake the strainer to rough up.
• Add the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the oil, salt an pepper, gently stir to coat and transfer to a baking sheet in one layer, and add the fresh thyme.
• Roast in the hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. For even browning, flip the potatoes in the pan halfway through the cooking time.
• Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil and serve.

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature.
• Peel the potatoes, and cut each into 3 by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle.
• Place the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring them to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 4 minutes. Drain the excess water from the potatoes using a colander and then tip the potatoes back into the empty saucepan.
• Sprinkle the semolina over the top of the potatoes. Hold a lid firmly on top of the pan and shake the potatoes around to coat them well and so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later.
• Place the goose fat into a large roasting tin and heat in the oven until very hot. Then carefully place the semolina-coated potatoes into the hot fat and roast the potatoes in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until they are darkly golden and crisp, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven is hot enough they probably will not need more than about 25 minutes a side; and it's better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the tin) until the very last minute.

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Cut your peeled potatoes into chunks, approximately the size of an egg.
• Par-boil them in salted water for about 8 minutes.
• Set aside and leave to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.
• Pour the oil and dripping into a large roasting tin and place in the hot oven to heat.
• Rough up the sides of the potatoes by scratching them with a fork and season with salt.
• When the oil is hot, carefully place the potatoes in a single layer in the oil.
• Baste or turn over immediately, so they are coated with oil on all sides.
• Roast for 45 minutes, turning at least once.
• After that time, it's up to you to decide whether they are crispy enough or whether to give them another 15 minutes.
• Drain of fat and place on paper towels to absorb more access fat.
• Season again with salt before serving.

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature. I do this as soon as the turkey is out of the oven, which (for me) is very much later than the parboiling stage, but let's start with the oven since you may be cooking in different circumstances, or prefer different procedures.
• Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into three by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle.
• Put the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil, letting them cook for 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander and then tip back into the empty saucepan, sprinkling over the semolina. Shake the potatoes around to coat them well and, with the lid clamped on, give the pan a good rotation and the potatoes a proper bashing so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later.
• Meanwhile, empty the goose fat into a large roasting pan and heat in the oven until seriously hot. (I often parboil the potatoes a few hours in advance, so the "meanwhile" doesn't always hold. And you can start heating up the fat in the oven that the turkey's in, turning it up to really hot once the bird comes out.) Then tip the semolina-coated potatoes carefully into the hot fat and roast in the oven for an hour or until they are darkly golden and crispy, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven's hot enough they probably won't need more than about 25 minutes a side; and it's better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the pan) till the very last minute.
• Boastfulness and vainglory are not attractive nor would I want to encourage them in you (or myself), but when you've cooked these and see them in all their golden glory on the table, I think you're allowed a quiet moment of silent pride.