Perfect Roast Potatoes

A while back I promised to share my Perfect Roast Potatoes... something that took a great deal of research and a fair few spuds to finally achieve. 


A bit like the mash, there isn't any real great secret to a good roastie and it all starts with the right potato. King Edwards or Desiree work well.


Peel and cut. I think it works best cutting along the longest length of the spud to increase the amount of surface area... the more surface area you have the crispier the roastie should be. 


Boil in plenty of very salted water until they are just about to fall apart. Time to be brave... you want them to be on the very verge... But leave it too long and you'll end up with potato soup. 


Once you've let them go as absolutely as far as you feel you dare, gently drain them. Give them a gentle shake in the colander if you need to rough up the edges. And then set them aside to dry... the drier they are, the less moisture content (obviously) and the all the more crispy they will get. You can let them go cold, even put them in the fridge.


Get your oven hot. Very hot. And then on the hob, using your heaviest bottomed frying pan, fry the potatoes in small batches of a few at a time in quite a thick layer of olive oil. You don't have to fry them hard, just enough to get a golden colour started on all sides. Set each batch aside on kitchen paper to stop them getting too greasy and season as you go. If you cover them you can get to this stage well in advance of needing to put them in the oven.


Put them in a hot pan in the oven, with another sprinkle of olive oil, a couple of unpeeled garlic gloves and a sprig of rosemary. Turn half way through cooking. 40 mins or so later they should be perfect and very crispy. And they are pretty unforgiving, so will keep warm in a low oven if you need an extra 10 or 15 mins to get everything else done.