One of my all time things to eat as a kid was crispy roast potatoes with our Sunday roast. To this day, I probably have them once a week. Here’s a few recipes using the humble spud. Two versions of pretty fine roast potatoes and a smokey citrusy salad with potatoes, tomatoes and octopus.
So, first up…
My top three 3 Potato varieties for roasting and a couple of tips on epic roast spuds.
Maris Piper
The good old British variety is ideal for roasting due to its fluffy texture inside and crispy outside when roasted. Its high starch content gives a golden, crunchy result.
Yukon Gold
Known for its buttery flavour, Yukon Golds have a medium starch content that gives them a perfect balance of creaminess and crispiness when roasted.
Desirée
A awesome all rounder. With their waxy texture and red skin, Desirée potatoes hold their shape well and develop a deliciously crisp exterior while staying soft inside.
Parboiling and adding flavour
Boil your potatoes for about 10 minutes before roasting. This helps roughen the edges, which will become crispy in the oven while the inside stays fluffy. I like to add a couple of baby onions, garlic, herbs even a little pancetta to the water as well as salt to boost the flavour. But for the absolute bees knees in roast spuds, cook them in chicken stock(see below). Drain them well and let them cool a little before adding to the hot oil.
Hot Oil/Fat and a little breathing space.
Heat your oil or fat (duck fat, pork fat, ghee or tallow works great) in the roasting tray before adding the potatoes. This allows immediate contact and a sizzling start to crisp them up. Roast in a heavy based roasting tray that is large enough to avoid the potatoes to be on-top of one another and, oh, and use plenty of salt.
Roast Potatoes
Recipe
1kg potatoes
80g of ghee, tallow or fat (or olive oil)
S & P
2 Clove garlic
3 bay leaves
3 baby onions (wedges)
80g smoked pancetta (sliced)
Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C
Peel the potatoes and cut them into evenly sized chunks, about 4-5 cm each.
Place the potato chunks in a large pot of salted water. Add the herbs, pancetta, and onion. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the edges start to soften.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them sit for a minute to steam dry. Shake the colander a little to rough up the edges of the potatoes. This will help them become crispier in the oven.
Pop fat into the roasting tray and heat in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Spread the potatoes and all of the atomato’s (not the garlic) out in a single layer on a hot heavy based baking tray into of the hot fat. Place the tray in the preheated oven and roast for 40-50 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown and crispy. Turn the potatoes halfway and add the garlic.
Remove the potatoes from the oven season with a little more salt and serve.
Potato and Octopus salad, smokey pepper and tomato salsa
A lovely little snack for a cooler day.
Recipe
200g octopus
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
Half a punnet cherry tomatoes (halved)
3 Desirée potatoes
Smokey pepper & tomato salsa
1 red pepper
Half a red onion, finely diced
2 tomatoes, finely diced
Half a large red chili , seeded and finely chopped.
2 tbsp chopped coriander stalks
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil
A pinch of grated garlic
1 tsp g cumin
S&P
Method
Roast the potatoes in the oven at 180 deg for 45 minutes. Leave to cool then cut into little chunks. Pop the pepper onto a char grill or over a flame until the skins are charred and blistered.
Allow it to steam in a bowl with a plate on top for about 10 minutes.
Remove the skin and dice the pepper.
Mixed in a bowl with other ingredients.
Season with S&P
To cook the occy: Bring to occy (octopus) to a gentle simmer in lightly salted water with a few bay leaves and garlic. Poach for around 30 minutes until tender. If you can easily poke with a skewer. it’s good to go. Chill the octopus.
Season with a little olive oil and char grill on high heat, then slice into bite sized pieces.
Serve the potatoes on a plate with octopus, top with tomatoes and salsa.
Potatoes cooked in stock with capers, lemon and herbs
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to How to be a better cook to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.