ROAST POTATOES

I had a poussin that I needed to cook today so the children, rather extravagantly, had it with roast potatoes for tea.

I realised that I have yet to put this wonderful dish on my blog.

I love a roast and am very particular (something I learned from my Father) about roast potatoes. They have they have to be small and they must be crispy. I think there is nothing worse than a large soggy roast potato with your joint.

So I hope you enjoy them as much as we do and do let me know how you get on.

ROAST POTATOES - Serves 6

Ingredients

1kg of Potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward or Desiree), 2 Tablespoons of Duck Fat, Sea Salt

Heat the oven to 220
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-3cm chunks. Place the potato chunks in a pan of cold water and place on the hob
Bring the potatoes to the boil and allow to simmer for 8 minutes so that the have softened, drain into a colander
2 minutes before the potatoes have finished cooking place the fat into a solid based roasting tray and place on the top shelf of the oven
Wearing oven gloves, remove the roasting tray from the oven and place on the hob on a medium heat. Tip the potatoes in to the pan and gently mix them so all the potatoes are covered in the fat. This seals the potatoes which stops them sticking to the pan or absorbing to much fat
Once they are all covered in fat return them to the top shelf of the oven.
After 10 minutes turn the potatoes over and then drain off any excess fat
Turn the oven down to 180 and return the potatoes to the oven for another 35-40 minutes, turning them every 15 minutes, until they are crisp and golden.
Once golden, remove from the oven, sprinkle with some sea salt and serve immediately

Cooking notes

There are many variety of potatoes. I have named a few that I think work well, if you can not find them use what you can.

I drain and keep the duck fat, for my roast potatoes, when I cook duck legs. If you don’t have any duck fat then use 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil instead.

Take care when handling the potatoes as the hot fat does have a tendency to spit. You need a heavy bottom roasting tray, if you use a light weight tray it may buckle on the hob.

Roast potatoes do not like to sit so I tend to bring them to the table just as we are about to eat.

Adapting

If you have some rosemary add a sprig or two 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time