Summer Roast Potatoes

Brought to you by:

OcadoLife

4 serving

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hr 35 mins

Serves: 4

Roast potatoes can take your meal from good to fantastic. Find out how to make really superb roasties with minimum fuss. The thyme, lemon and garlic give them a hint of the Med, which makes them perfect for summer as well as colder months. Our key tips include parboiling – a method also used by Michael Caine, who claims to make the best roast potatoes in the world – and then adding to hot fat, once they’ve steamed dry. Another key element is to use the correct fat, or in this case the correct mix of fats. Summer lovin’, had me a roast potato.

Share recipe

Share Pin it Print

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

3 tbsp goose fat (or olive oil, if vegan/vegetarian)
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ kg maris piper potatoes, peeled
25g thyme sprigs
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves and left unpeeled
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 sprinkling sea salt flakes

Method

Step 1

Use the right fat. A mix of goose fat and olive oil is a proven combo that delivers the best crunch and flavour. Plus, the goose fat stops the oil from smoking, and the oil stops the goose fat from being too rich. It’s important to make sure the fat is hot before you add the potatoes – it allows them to seal immediately, so they don’t soak up too much oil, leaving you with greasy roasties. So preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6 and heat up the roasting tin for at least 10 mins.

Step 2

Prep your potatoes. Cut the tatties into chunks of roughly the same size for even cooking. You could cut them on the diagonal, which increases the surface area, for extra crunch. It’s good to rinse them before cooking to remove some of the starch that can make them claggy. Pop in a large pan, cover with cold water, drain, then cover again with fresh water. Add a good pinch of salt.

Step 3

Part-cooking the potatoes before roasting stops them becoming tough, instead helping them get crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Put the pan on a medium-high heat, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins. Drain into a colander, then give them a good shake to fluff up. Let them steam for 5 mins – you don’t want to add wet potatoes to hot fat! They’ll crisp up better too.

Step 4

It's crunch time. That hot oil is your roasties’ best friend, so transfer the potatoes to the hot tin then turn and coat them well. Roast for 30 mins, then turn and baste them in the oil so they crisp up all over. Roast for another 30 mins, or up to 40 mins for ultimate crunch.

Step 5

Go big on summery flavours. Adding thyme, garlic and lemon will bring a lovely flavour of the Med, so add these when you baste halfway through cooking. Once the roasties are done, sprinkle with sea salt for an extra flavour boost.