The BEST EVER Roasted Potatoes

 

 Have you ever heard of Poppy Cooks? She's the self proclaimed "Potato Queen" and I first discovered her as I was bouncing around the interwebs. She's been on a few cooking competition shows as well, but the thing that made me instantly love her was the fact the she wrote an entire cookbook about potatoes. How awesome is that? Yes, it's literally called The Potato Book. And yes, of course, I have a copy! 

 Anyway, I was recently planning a dinner for my sister and her entire family, and I knew I wanted to include a potato something. Enter Poppy Cooks with her AMAZING roasties and I thought, could there be anything better?? Well, long story short, I made them and they were literally the best roasted potatoes I had ever tasted! Big hit with the family too! Honestly not even one potato left!

 So, here's the thing... this recipe isn't so much about a list of ingredients as it's about the cooking method. Seriously, I'll never cook a roasted potato any other way, ever again. Who knew roasted potatoes could be so good? Side note, if you'd like to see some of her other potato recipes, just google her, I'm sure you'll find her. Or just buy a copy of The Potato Book! It's absolutely not outside the realm of possibility that I will wind up cooking my way through all of her potato recipes. But if there's only ONE recipe to try, it's this one. (And make sure you read all the tips first before you start. There's some good info there!)

If you love a roasted potato, you MUST try this method. 100% will make again!

 

 

Potatoes, halved or quartered 

Salt

Vegetable oil, or your choice of animal fat 

 

 

  Get your potatoes into cold HEAVILY salted water and boil for 10-15 minutes until falling off the tip of the knife. You don't want them too mushy as they won't hold their shape.

Drain off the potatoes, leave them in the colander, and cover with a tea towel to steam dry for a further 10-15 minutes. This makes them extra fluffy!

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. 

Pour 1/2 cup of oil into a roasting pan or baking tray and get it into the oven to get hot.

Once the potatoes are ready, give them a good toss in the colander to rough them up and then carefully pour into the hot tray with the oil. Use tongs to turn the potatoes so they sit with a flat side down for extra crispiness. Cook for 20 minutes then remove from the oven. 

Turn the heat down to 400°F. 

Give the potatoes a turn and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes. You may need less/more time so keep an eye out. Once golden and crispy, they are ready to go! Sprinkle with a little more salt and enjoy the ultimate roasties!

 

 

Poppy's Tips:

 -Cut your potatoes into larger chunks for more surface area. This will help them get super crispy. 

- Be sure to heavily season the water when boiling. You want it to taste almost like sea water. This helps with flavor and keeps the nutrients locked in. 

- Start with cold water and bring up to temp with the potatoes in it. Anything grown underground needs to start in cold water, anything overground can go straight into boiling water. 

- ALWAYS steam dry. The steam helps the potatoes get extra fluffy. 

- Pre-heat the oil or fat in the tray before you add your spuds. This is very important!

- Only turn your spuds once halfway through cooking. As tempting as it is to want to faff, leave them alone!

 

 

Joey's Tips:

Instead of using vegetable oil, you can add more flavor by using animal fat. Duck fat, goose fat, or beef tallow would be fabulous. Just sayin! 

 You want to choose a starchy variety of potato, such as a Yukon Gold or Russet. Personally, I prefer the Yukon Gold because they'll brown and crisp better than a Russet, and they have a more buttery flavor.  

 I've found that adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water helps to make them even crispier. It has to do with the PH level. You want the water to be more alkaline which means it has a PH level over 7. I know I know, it's all very science-y, but it's true!