ultimate roast potatoes

A foolproof recipe that will surely even in first-timers get crispy skins and fluffy insides. Surely your potatoes will be perfect for Sunday lunch or even for party dinner.

Prep: 20 mins
Cook:50 mins
Easy
Serves: 4

Ingredients

1kg Maris Piper potato
100g duck or goose fat (for a luxurious taste), or 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
2 tsp flour
Maldon salt, to serve

ultimate roast potatoes Method

Step: 1 Place a roasting tin in the oven (one large enough to take potatoes in a single layer) and warm oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Skin the potatoes and knife each into 4 even-sized pieces, if they are medium in size, 2-3 if smaller (5cm pieces). Fall the potatoes into a big pan and spill in sufficient water to just cover them. Then add salt, and wait for the water to boil. Instantly when the water reaches a full rolling boil, lessen the heat, set your timer on, and gently boil the potatoes uncovered, nicely vigorously, for about 2 mins. For now, place your choice of fat into the hot roasting tin and warm it in the oven for some minutes, so it will be really hot.

Step: 2 Use a sieve to drain the potatoes. Time to rough them up a bit – shake the sieve back and forth two or three times to fluff them up the outsides. Dust with the flour, and give one more shake or two so they will be evenly and thinly coated. Be careful to put the potatoes into the hot fat – they will frizzle as they go in –now turn and roll them on every side so they will be coated all over. Layout them in a single layer, ensuring that they have enough room.

Step: 3 Now roast them for about 15 mins, take the potatoes out of the oven, and turn over them. Roast for the next 15 minutes and turn them over again. Put potatoes back in the oven for 10-20 mins, or even so long it takes to get them golden and crisp. The coloring would be uneven, that is what you want. Dust some salt and serve right away.