Roast Potatoes 3 Ways
Roasties are, without a doubt, the most important thing to get right in any Christmas dinner. Why? Texture. Sure, well cooked sprouts and broccoli should have a firm, fresh squeak, but nothing has quite the same audible crunch as sinking your teeth through crisp skin of a roasty and into the fluffy spud itself. Here, I’m going to show you three ways to make these delicious nuggets; Classic, Overnight and Cheat. As you might guess, classic is going to cover the best way to make the spud we’re all familiar with. Overnight roaties is a great way to prep the day (or two or three) ahead and take some of the stress off on the big day itself. As an added bonus, overnight roasties marinade in garlic, rosemary and butter so they have time to really build up flavour! Lastly, cheat roasties are a great way to prepare your potatoes if you don’t have much time or enough pans to parboil. Stick them in a roasting tin and you’re done.
I’m also going to cover three cheeky little tricks to give your roasties something extra this Christmas, that works well with all three types. So make sure not to miss that at the end of the recipes.
The world of spuds
Not all potatoes are equal in the world of roasting. The most important consideration you can make is which variety? Anything described at floury, soft or fluffy make excellent roasties. We’re looking for potatoes with starches that fluff up nicely when cooked, as this will provide plenty of surface for fat to crystalize. Young, new, salad or boiling potatoes don’t, as their starches remain firm. I use anything ranging from Maris Peer, Maris Piper or Desiree, to a mixed use like a Saxon. If you’d prefer to use heritage varieties and have a means to track them down, have a go with Red Duke of York, King Edward, Edzell Blue or British Queen.
Classic Roasties
With a glassy crunch and clean fluffiness, classic roasties come in all shapes and sizes. I like my potatoes nice and well done, but if you’d prefer a lighter crunch then pull them out of the oven 10-15 minutes earlier than the time listed below.
2 Large potatoes per person
Enough cooking oil to cover a roasting tray 5mm deep
Salt
Step 1.
Peel and cut potatoes into 1.5-2 inch chunks and parboil in salted water for 8 minutes, until softened but not completely cooked. Strain them from the water and leave them to steam for 3 minutes. This step is crucial as it allows water to escape from the surface of the potatoes, making room for fat to be absorbed by the starch whilst roasting, giving them that all important crunch. Tip the potatoes back into the pan and cover with a lid, then shake them to fluff up the starch on the outside.
Step 2.
Whilst the potatoes steam, preheat the oven at 180C and place a roasting tray on the top shelf with a 0.5cm deep pool of oil in it. After 5 minutes, carefully remove the tray and add the potatoes, making sure to leave a small amount of space between them so they roast nicely (if left too close then their steam will prevent any crispiness from happening and you’ll end up with greasy mash).
Step 3.
Place the tray on the top shelf of the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn them over and continue to roast for another 30 minutes. When they’re done, hook them out of the oil and dab them with a paper towel to remove extra oil. This is when potatoes can turn greasy if allowed to cool with oil on the surface. Serve right away.
Overnight Roasties
A thicker crust, marinated in extra flavours, and buttery moorishness, with the added benefit of being prepared the day ahead and finished on the day with a drizzle of oil and any spare shelf going in the oven.
2 Large potatoes per person
A knob of butter
Salt
Pepper
3 Cloves of garlic, sliced
A sprig of rosemary
A drizzle of cooking oil
Step 1.
Peel and cut potatoes into 1.5-2 inch chunks and parboil in salted water for 8 minutes, until softened but not completely cooked. Strain them from the water and leave them to steam for 3 minutes. This step is crucial as it allows water to escape from the surface of the potatoes, making room for fat to be absorbed by the starch whilst roasting, giving them that all important crunch.
Step 2.
Take your butter and add salt, pepper and a clove of garlic, crushed with the side of a knife. Whilst the potatoes are still hot enough to melt the butter, gently toss everything around in the roasting tray (this step will rough up the edges of the potato, making them absorb more butter) and add a sprig of rosemary. Once the potatoes are cool, cover and pop the whole lot in the fridge overnight, this gives the butter time to infuse with the garlic and rosemary, and the potatoes time to absorb the butter. Note: make sure the tray is large enough for the potatoes to be one layer deep and have room for air flow to move between them when roasting.
Step 3.
The next day, drizzle with some olive oil and preheat the oven at 180C, then slide the tray of potatoes in. Roast for an hour, tossing them around every 15 minutes or so. When the potatoes are done, plate them up right away and serve hot.
Cheat Roasties
The smallest addition to our trio of taters, the cheat roaties are the least work, least washing up, and still crisp and fluffy. This technique takes advantage of steam released from the potatoes themselves as they roast, so the smaller size is important to make sure they cook through in time before the crisp becomes burn.
2 Large potatoes per person
A drizzle of cooking oil
Salt and pepper
Step 1.
Cut the potatoes into 2cm cubes and load them into a roasting tray. It doesn’t matter if they’re crowded as long as it’s one layer deep. Preheat the oven at 200C and drizzle the tray with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and cover with foil, then roast them for 30 minutes.
Step 2.
After 30 minutes, remove the foil and give them a stir. Return to the top shelf and continue to roast for another 30 minutes to let them crisp up, stirring them once more during this time to give them a chance to crisp on more than one face.
Extra Potato Pizzazz
Black garlic. Smoked paprika. Harissa oil. Pick your weapon.
Black garlic: Whilst the potatoes finish roasting, crush 5 cloves of black garlic with the back of a fork in a large bowl. When the potatoes are done, pop them in the bowl with the garlic and toss it around. The heat from the potatoes will release the aroma of the garlic. Plate it all up together.
Smoked paprika: When at the fluffing stage (when you shake the potatoes to rough up the outside), add a pinch of smoked paprika with your salt. The paprika will fry into the crispy skin whilst the smokiness infuses deep into the potato.
Harissa oil: Add 1 tbsp of harissa oil into your cooking oil and mix the potatoes around in it before cooking. Not only will this give your potatoes are wonderful heat, but they come out golden red coloured too.