Who doesn’t love a crunchy cornered hot roast potato? The following method always results in crunchy potatoes for me. You need a heavy bottomed roasting tray, and to follow the procedure to the letter.
Serves 6 to 8
Potatoes: 1 kg preferably new potatoes, or other suitably waxy varieties such as Charlotte. However, this method has worked for us on most varieties including Roosters, Kerr Pinks etc.
Sunflower oil
Garlic: 8 to 10 large cloves, just slightly crushed against the work top under the heel of your hand.
Rosemary: 3 sprigs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Peel the potatoes, and cut larger ones in half to have a uniform size throughout. Place in a large saucepan, covered in cold water. At this point, turn on oven to 2o0 degrees or Gas mark 6 and pre-heat heavy bottomed roasting tray. Leave in the oven heating until it is required. Heat the saucepan of potatoes until the water is almost at simmering and then turn off. Drain immediately and return to the hot saucepan to fully evaporate the potatoes of all water. Once they are dry, add a few good glugs of sunflower oil and fully coat the potatoes in the oil to seal them and also to have a good excess of oil in the pan.
Remove the hot heavy bottomed roasting tray from the oven, and place on the hob for safety, prior to gently pouring the potatoes and the excess oil onto the hot tray. Add freshly ground pepper and sea salt to the potatoes, and the cloves of garlic and sprigs of rosemary. Turn them gently in the oil and return to the oven for 40 minutes until the are golden brown. Turn once half way through.
Once cooked to a crunchy outside and a soft fluffy middle, drain well on paper, place in a warm bowl tossed with chopped up fresh rosemary from one sprig. Serve straight away.
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