Roast Potatoes
Roast Potatoes are an essential recipe - beloved, versatile & easy to master. Simple to make - only 3 ingredients. Perfect for any occasion!Try to buy evenly sized potatoes, about 150g each (because we boil them whole). Each potato will make two/three roast potatoes. These are twice cooked. You can do the first (boil) well in advance, the second (roasting) step takes around 45 minutes. Roast potatoes are best served straight out of the oven. If serving them with a roast dinner, make sure you allow for the meat resting time too; you’ll want the meat to come out of the oven before the potatoes.
Servings: 4 people
Equipment
- Large baking dish (note)
- Optional (but very handy) - baster or silicone pastry brush
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg potatoes (about 8 evenly sized)
- 2 ½ litres cold water (enough to generously cover the potatoes)
- Tablespoon salt
- 120 ml oil/fat (note)
- extra salt
Instructions
- Boil Potatoes – peel the potatoes and place them (whole) in cold water (from the tap is fine). Add a tablespoon of salt. Bring the water to the boil, then maintain a simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. If you gently prod them with the tip of a sharp knife, the knife should enter easily without the potato crumbling.1.2 kg potatoes2 ½ litres cold waterTablespoon salt
- Crispy Outsides Prep – use a spider or slotted spoon to lift out the potatoes and place gently on a cooling rack. Use the tip of a sharp knife to pierce each potato in its centre, pushing the blade in about halfway, then twist the knife so they break into two ragged halves. Repeat this process if the pieces are still too big. Allow the potatoes to steam dry at room temperature before transferring to the fridge, still on the cooling rack.
- Chill – once completely cool, transfer all the potatoes gently to a bowl (uncovered) and refrigerate until required. This step can be done well in advance, up to three days before serving. Get the potatoes out of the fridge when preheating the oven.
- Preheat – preheat oven to 200°C. Ten minutes before putting potatoes in the oven, put the oil in the baking dish in the oven to preheat.120 ml oil/fat
- Roast & Baste – take the baking dish out of the oven. One by one, carefully place the potatoes in. Tilt the dish so that oil collects in one corner. Using a baster/silicone pastry brush or spoon, coat all the potatoes with fat. Spread the potatoes out and return the dish to the oven. Every 15 minutes, turn the potatoes and repeat the basting process. Cook for around 45 minutes, until the potatoes are evenly very browned and crisp.
- Serve - Drain off excess oil (try not to tip them down the sink!) and sprinkle liberally with salt soon after coming out of the oven. You can keep them in the dish to keep them warm. Serve as soon as possible and watch them disappear!extra salt
Notes
Baking dish size will depend how many you’re doing. We need enough space to lay them in one layer with a little space around them so that they can brown. You also need enough space to be able to push them to one side to access the oil at the other when you’re basting. You can use more than one baking dish if you’ve got the oven space.
Flavourless vegetable oils such as canola or sunflower oil is fine to use, if a little bland. Extra virgin olive oil is MUCH nicer. If you're not catering to vegetarians, meat-derived fat, such as chicken schmaltz, lard (beef) or duck fat is delicious. These are high in saturated fat, which is great for crisping up foods.