by Irini Kotroni

Created on: April 07, 2010

This really is a simple dish that many restaurants fail to produce to perfection.  Don’t be put off by this, follow the recipe and serve them straight away.

I have 3 golden rules for perfect roast potatoes; the first is using the correct variety of potato. My first choice is Désirée with Romano being my second.  Should neither of these be available opt for King Edward. The amounts used are approximate depending on who I am feeding.  If they are potato addicts I always ensure there are enough for second helpings, otherwise I allow 225g or 8oz per person.

The second golden rule is to have a good quality, solid shallow roasting tray about 40 x 50 cm or (16 x 12) inches.  This avoids the potatoes jostling for room.

The third golden rule is to use good quality fat and make sure it is hot before you put the potatoes in it.  In England I would always use lard or dripping, in Greece I cannot buy lard or dripping so I use olive or sunflower oil.

For 4 servings

1 kg (2lb) Désirée potatoes

60g (2oz) lard/dripping or 60ml oil (approx 3 tablespoons - olive or sunflower oil)

Sea salt Any seasonings you may care to add, eg paprika, dried oregano, dried basil, black pepper

1    Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 425F, 220C.  Add fat to the roasting tray and place tray in the highest part of the oven whilst the oven is still heating up.

2    Using a peeler, peel the potatoes and cut into even sized pieces.

3    Place them in a large saucepan, cover with boiling water, add the salt and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

4    After 10 minutes, use a spoon to lift one potato out and check it with a skewer to see if the surface is ‘fluffy’, if it is still smooth, just simmer for a few more minutes.

5    Once the edges are ‘fluffy’ remove the pan from the hob, leaving the hob switched on.  Drain off the water, keeping it for gravy or as stock for soup. If you have used a colander place the potatoes back in the saucepan and holding the handle with one hand and the lid with the other hand, making sure it is firmly on (use an oven glove or kitchen cloth if they are too hot to hold), shake the saucepan up and down.  This is to roughen the edges and makes them lovely and crunchy.

6    With your hands protected with oven gloves, remove the hot tray of fat from the oven and place it on the hot hob.  Use a long handled spoon to place each potato into the sizzling hot fat.  DO NOT POUR THE POTATOES FROM THE PAN STRAIGHT ONTO THE HOT FAT.  THE FAT WILL SPLASH AND BURN YOU.  Once all the potatoes are in the pan, hold it in both hands and gently shake it from side to side to roughen the edges, taking care not to spill the fat out of the tray.  With a large tablespoon, baste each potato until each is covered with the fat.

7   Season with a little salt and pepper and if you want herby or spicy potatoes, sprinkle with the dried herbs or the paprika.

8   Place the tray back in the oven on the top shelf and leave them to cook for 40-50 minutes.

9    Using  oven gloves, remove the tray from the oven, season with a little salt and serve straight away to ensure you have the perfect roast potatoes.          

Learn more about this author, Irini Kotroni.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.