Roast Potatoes

Crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside that’s some good roast potatoes. Nestle them up to your Sunday roast with some vegetables and a salad and you won’t miss the rice or pasta.

While many recipes call for specific types of potatoes to roast, on any given day, I go with what I have and what is available; therefore, I suggest you do the same. However, if you can put your hands on some russet (aka Idaho) potatoes, that would be mighty fine. Starchy potatoes bake up really well.

INGREDIENTS

●    2 pound potatoes, scrubbed clean or peeled

●    Salt and pepper to taste

●    Oil

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2.  Bring a pot of water to boil on high heat. Meanwhile, peel and cut potatoes into large chunks and set aside in a bowl of tap water.

3.  When the water comes to a boil, add salt to taste (taste the water to ascertain whether it is seasoned enough). Drain the potatoes and add to the boiling water, cover pot and bring back to a boil. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes (time starts when the pot comes back to a boil.

4.  Get out a roasting pan or baking sheet (a cast iron skillet would be great) and set aside.

5.  Drain potatoes well and add to the pan, drizzle generously with oil and sprinkle with lots of black pepper. Use 2 tablespoons or a rubber spatula and toss gently to coat the potatoes with the oil and pepper. There’s no need to add salt if the boiling water was well seasoned.

6.  Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the potatoes and roast for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and crusty. Serve immediately.

Notes for Super Roast Potatoes

The following can be added to the potatoes at direction # 5:

●  Whole roasted cumin (jeera) or ground

●  Ground allspice

●  Chopped fresh thyme or rosemary or marjoram

To further flavour the potatoes:

●  Use bacon fat (left over from your morning breakfast of bacon)

●  Drippings from your roast chicken, pork, beef or lamb