cooking tips #3

Cooking Tips

(Cheap and Easy)

Number 3

Perfect Roast Potatoes

  Crispy and fluffy every time.

Introduction

This is an occasional blog post to hopefully give you readers, simple, tested cooking ideas. I am not trying to teach you to suck eggs. Most of these posts will not be full recipes but just to show you how to do the basics right. I have tried different techniques by TV and Book Chefs that promised the perfect so and so, sadly most of them do not work. Below I will show the ones that worked. All these tips have been used a minimum of 10 times with constant results. I hope you find these useful. So here goes........

 Ingredients

• Potatoes. Any type will work but the bigger the better. Not new potatoes though.
• Salt 
• Vegetable oil

Equipment

• Large saucepan
• Deep sided roasting pan
• Collender

Prepare and cook time 

• 30 to 1 hour depends on amount of potatoes and size

 Lets Cook

First of all. Peel the potatoes all about the same size or cut in half to make same size and place in cold water until ready.

Peeled spuds, nearly all the same size in cold water.

Full the kettle up to maximum level and boil the water. Empty the cold water out and put the peeled potatoes into the saucepan. Sprinkle with some salt. While the kettle is boiling, Heat your oven to 200C, 400F, Gas 6. Then get your roasting pan and pour about 1cm of vegetable oil in and place on the shelf just one down from the top shelf of the oven. When the water has boiled, pour over the potatoes so they are covered. Bring to boil on the hob and then simmer until they are 'parboiled'. In this case if the outside of the potatoes feel soft when you push a knife end in and feels harder nearer the inside. Once that is done, drain the potatoes into a collender. Let all the water drain out.

Potatoes, Parboiled and drained.

Return to the empty saucepan and place the lid on. Now gently shake holding the lid. Have a look and if the potatoes look 'rough' on the outside, then that is enough, if not shake a bit more. 

Potatoes shaken and ready for roasting.

Once happy. Take the now hot roasting pan out the oven and then with a tablespoon place the potatoes in the oil. Once done, spoon the oil over the potatoes to cover them.

Potatoes in with hot oil and oil spooned over.

 Then return to oven. Now keep an eye on them, when the they look like they are turning more yellow on the top. Take them out and with a spoon turn them over. Your should see on the underneath them looking a light brown. Then spoon over some of the oil on the turned potatoes.

Potatoes Half way. Turned over and spooned with oil, now back in oven.

 Again check after a little while and when they look light brown on both sides they are done. Remove from oil and on to a plate. You hopefully should have crispy and fluffy roast potatoes. No need for duck or goose fat.

All done ready to serve.

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 Please comment. Would love your feedback.

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Written by Gerry, version 2.0.Photos added