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Getting your Christmas roasties right is not easy work but Nigella Lawson has shared her top tips for making them the perfect additions to your dinner.
Christmas is just days away and if you’re on dinner duty, the thought of getting everything right can be stressful.
But with this recipe from one of the UK’s most loved chefs you’ll be able to ensure your spuds won’t dissapoint.
On her blog, Nigella said: “It is impossible to cook roast potatoes without needing them to be perfect, which to me means sweet and soft inside and a golden-brown carapace of crunch without.
“And, strangely, no matter how many tricksy things you may succeed at in cooking, no matter what techniques you may master, nothing gives quite the contented glow of achievement that cooking a good tray of roast potatoes does.”
The first crucial step is the heat of the fat that you cook your potatoes in. If it’s not super hot, you won’t be able to create the perfect potato.
Goose fat has a very high smoking point and tastes good, says Nigella which makes it perfect for roasting your potatoes in.
Secondly, the size of your potatoes is important – they should be reasonably small so that the ratio of crunchy outside to fluffy interior is optimised, she adds.
The third tip is the dredging of the potatoes in semolina rather than flour after parboiling. Make sure to rattle the pan around to make sure the potatoes are slightly mashed on the surface so that they catch more in the fat.
According to the top chef, you should first preheat the oven to 250°C/230°C fan/gas mark 9/500°F.
Put the fat into a large roasting tin and then into the oven to heat up – it should be very hot and this will take around 20 to 30 minutes.
Nigella’s recipe for the perfect potatoes says you should then ensure that the potatoes are each cut into three once they are peeled.
Make sure to cut each at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle.
You should then salt them and boil for four minutes before draining and sprinkling with semolina. Shake the potatoes in the pan and then tip into the tray with the heated oil in.
Roast for 30 minutes until crispy and don’t forget to turn them half way through, once they’re done – serve and enjoy!
One person who tried the recipe said: “Roast potatoes have been hit and miss for me. But this method was perfect. The key is a screaming hot roasting pan. Some just don’t get hot enough or retain the heat. I used veg oil and duck fat, but that is a high smoke point fat so works well. Also only had flour, but this works too.”
