…even if you didn’t make them!
Who doesn’t love a roast potato? Surely everyone?
I mean really I have NEVER met anyone who didn’t a) love roast potatoes and b) have a view on how to make them ‘perfect’?
So what is roastiness? Well it’s all about feeling good for me, good and warm, there is little wrong in your world if you have a roast potato!
It’s the anticipation of opening the oven to see how they’re doing, hearing the family shout from the other room ‘Are the potatoes ok?‘ and then the joy of seeing them there all gorgeous on the plate. And relax…
Like everyone I love them when they are golden crispy on the outside glistening with boiling oil and then fluffy and hot inside.
Oh but how to make them?
Like most chefs today I favour the parboil followed by a plunge straight into smoking hot fat. But of course it doesn’t always work out, oh I can make a super roast dinner now and again but that most crucial part of meal can not be messed up. And believe me I do mess them up, I’ve served up mash because the parboil went on too long, I’ve served up burnt crisps, I’ve served up raw lumps and I’ve served up frozen chips because I forgot to buy the potatoes!
Forget the meat – the roasties are what maketh the meal (and what you will be judged on).
If like me it’s chancy whether or not you’ll churn out a perfectly roasted spud then it’s ok to cheat and BUY THEM! Yes, I confess, I don’t always make my own roasties. I also don’t always eat them on a Sunday, I keep them in the freezer and get them out any day of the week. Roastiness on a Wednesday? Why not. Slightly more exciting than getting those chips out again.
I was asked by Aunt Bessie’s to have a think about roastiness and came to the conclusion that it’s ok to fake it now and again. As roast potatoes are SO lovely and SO important you should be able to eat them whenever you like and maybe not leave them up to chance – especially if you don’t have the time, the inclination or like me you just can’t cook…
Yes, roasties are lush but I don’t condone stealing your neighbours ok?
Tags: Basics, Cooking, Roast Dinner
I will admit to having used Aunt Bessies roast potatoes some years ago, when time was of the essence and I was more interested in playing with my horses than cooking. In these circumstances, I thoroughly approve of Aunt Bessies. However, nowadays, even though using the oven does horrible things to my knees and back, I just have to do the par-boil and into hot fat thing. I used find that the best potatoes to make lovely fluffy roasties with are Maris Pipers. Hubby, however, swore by King Edwards. However, we’re both agreed that the best roast potatoes – by far – have been produced by using the relatively new Jelly potatoes that Tesco are selling from Greenvale Farm Fresh. We even go out of our way to drive to the one Tesco that supplies these little yellow beauties – which is a good 10 miles away!
Jelly Potatoes!? Jenny, I love you. I too am going to find some of these. If only so I can say I made Potato Jelly. x
*giggle* Well, perhaps “potato jelly” is pushing it a little – but if you insist. They’d probably like it in Russia! LOL
I use Aunt Bessies as a euphemism for breasts. As in “She has a cracking pair of Aunt Bessies.” Am I the only one?