Roast Potatoes

there is never enough

• Floury potatoes (Desiree, King Edward, Maris Piper) – aim for a minimum of three ‘roastie’ sized pieces per person
• Goose fat – aim for a screamingly hot, shimmeringly sea of fat to approximately 1cm in depth.

Pre-heat your oven to the hottest it will go.

Wash, peel and cut your potatoes into pieces – half or quarters. Put them in a large pan of salted boiling water, along with the peel. Yes, really. I wrap mine in muslin. Parboil for 10 minutes, although this will depend on how small you have cut your potato. You are not aiming to ‘cook’ the potato so much as to break up the edges.

Put the fat into your roasting tin and put it into the oven until it is screamingly hot. (Aga: because an aga cooks from above, below and both sides you need to cook in a shallow roasting tray).

Drain the potatoes and discard the peel. Shake the potatoes about to ensure the edges are roughened.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven, but try to keep the fat hot. Ideally, put your tray on the hob over a gentle heat. Place the potatoes in one by one – they should sizzle as they hit the pan – and baste all over.

Roast until golden and crunchy, It’ll take about an hour.

Season.

Eat.