How to make the very best roast potatoes
There is a talent that seems to stem through all generations of my family: the ability to make a sterling roast potato. It’s safe to say that my late grandma (who we sadly only lost a few weeks ago), won the prize for the best ones. They were consistently phenomenal - the perfect size, fluffy middles, crispy outsides and the ideal shade of golden brown. She’d also make lots of them - much to the dismay of my waistline - which meant that excessive potato consumption was a common occurrence. It feels rather odd to think about the fact I won’t ever eat one of those delicious morsels again.
Next is Mum’s potatoes. Again, consistently mind blowing. Sometimes cooked in animal fat, sometimes in olive oil, but every time as delicious as the last. It’s a fact that I have never had a better roast potato than either of the matriarchs in my family. And believe me, I’ve tried to find one.
Many years ago, I asked my grandma to give me her potato recipe. It will come as absolutely no surprise that one didn’t exist. “It’s just instinct really. I couldn’t tell you exactly how I do it because I just sort of do it,” she’d say, a statement that was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. So, as a girl on a mission to make potatoes as good as her grandma’s, I meticulously watched her make them one day. I noted down everything she did in the hopes that one day I’d adopt the same potato instinct - a lifetime mission of mine. With my garbled notes to hand, I tried repeating it. My potatoes were certainly far superior to any others I had made before but they still weren’t quite the same. I’ve made approximately 100 batches since then. I’ve still not quite mastered it but the determination is still there in full force.
Since we lost Nanny, I’ve had recurring dreams about her potatoes. When my friends have checked in on how I’ve been dealing with everything, I talk for ages about how much I already miss the potatoes. So I’ve made the decision to share the notes I made from my potato-shadowing day with her and invite you all to try to master it with me, in her honour.
Effort level: Easy
What you’ll need
King Edward potatoes (or Maris Piper…no others!) - work on the basis that each potato will be near on quartered and most people will consume about 8 potatoes (trust me)
Salt & pepper
Good quality (v.important) goose fat or dripping
What to do
Peel the potatoes and cut them smallish, with three edges if possible (on angles…yeah, it confused me too)
Run them under cold water to remove the starch (make sure the water is properly cold)
Heat the oven to 200°C with an oven tray inside
Pop the potatoes into a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Nanny’s instructions here were to leave them boiling until just right…I’m still yet to properly decipher this but roughly leave them for 8-10 minutes once on a solid rolling boil before removing from the heat
Drain the potatoes, put the drained potatoes back in the boiling pan and give them a good shake around. You want bits to start to breaking off. Leave them to dry for a couple of minutes.
Remove the baking tray from the oven and put a “generous blob” of goose fat, enough to lightly cover the potatoes (nb. I have since discovered that a generous blob is a VERY generous blob). It should melt down pretty quickly but if not, pop it back in the oven for a minute or so until it does.
Put the potatoes in the pan and make sure they’ve evenly covered in the fat
Cook for 45-50 minutes until nice and crispy
Serve immediately. They must be piping hot!
