BEST ROAST POTATOES EVER RECIPES

Steps:

• The day before, tip the potatoes into a large pan of salted water and simmer for 10 mins or until just tender, saving a little of the cooking water. Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave to cool. Now here’s the trick; choose the two chunks that are most cooked and ready for mashing and push these through a potato ricer, then add a little of the cooking water to make a thick potato batter. Roll the cooled potatoes through the batter then put in the fridge on a tray lined with non-stick paper and chill overnight.
• The next day, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Take a large roasting tin and add a good splash of vegetable oil. Place in the oven and heat for a few minutes, then carefully add the potatoes to the hot fat and turn to coat. Lightly season with salt and roast for 40 mins without disturbing, then turn the potatoes and turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 8 and continue to roast the potatoes for another 20-30 mins, turning again once, until beautifully crisp and golden all over.

Steps:

• A day or two before roasting, prepare the potatoes. You need chunks or whole potatoes roughly the size of a clementine, so peel and leave whole, halve or quarter accordingly. Place the potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water – salting is important, so don’t skip it. Bring the water to the boil and simmer gently for about 15 mins until the potatoes are cooked all the way through but not on the brink of collapse. Gently drain the potatoes in a colander, but do not shake them or ruffle them up – just leave them to drain and cool. Once there is no more steam coming off them, place on a tray in a single layer and put them in the fridge, uncovered, until ready to roast.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C/gas 6 (or put them in when you turn it up for the turkey). Pour oil into a deep roasting tin to give an even layer of about 0.5cm. Place the tin in the oven for 5 mins to heat the oil, then remove from the oven. One at a time and working methodically (starting at one corner of the roasting tin and lining them up as you go) place each potato in the oil and use a spoon to turn it so it’s completely coated. Don’t worry about the oil cooling down too much. Once all the potatoes are in the tin in a single layer, not touching, place the tin in the oven and cook for 40 mins, undisturbed.
• Remove from the oven and – again, meticulously – turn each potato. Return to the oven for 20 mins, then repeat the potato-turning process again. If, at this stage, your other side dishes allow you to, turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and give the potatoes a final 20 mins. By now you should have potatoes that are everything a roastie should be: deep, golden and crunchy on the outside with an extra-fluffy middle – just sprinkle with a little sea salt to serve.