Eloise HorsfieldNEARLY everyone’s favourite part of the traditional Christmas lunch is the roast potatoes and it is something that can be enjoyed even if you decide to trade your turkey in for the more Spanish suckling pig.
So here we give you some of Heston Blumenthal’s top tips for the perfect roastie:
- Choose the right type of potato – you need a potato with a reasonably high amount of dry matter so choose a floury rather than a waxy one such as a Maris Piper.
- Buy them big – one thing that gives a potato crunch is pointy edges where the fat can collect so buy large ones you can cut into halves or quarters.
- Wash well – if you don’t wash the starch off, you’re likely to end up with a slightly chewy potato.
- Boil till they almost break –bring to the boil and cook for 25-30 minutes until they are near to falling apart. Gently lift them out and place in a colander to drain.
- Be generous with the fat – it gives the potatoes its delicious crispy coating so you need a reasonable supply. Preheat the oven to 180C and pour oil into the tray to half a centimetre.
- Get roasting – make sure they’re in a single layer and not touching. Turn to coat fully in oil and then put into the oven for at least an hour turning every 20 minutes.
When you have drained the boiled potatoes shake them so they have a slightly fluffy exterior. This makes them crisper. When you take the tray out of the oven to load up the potatoes have the tray on a hot hob. This keeps the oil temp up.
Agree about washing potatoes before cooking but why cook in water, steam all your veg and keep the nutrition and flavour intact.
Steam them for 10 minutes or so and shake them well. Simply can’t agree about using oil – YUK. Baste them in the run-off from the roasting joint – still can’t believe he recs. oil.