Roasted Potatoes (3 Ways)

Everyone loves roast potatoes - a few tricks and flavour combos will give you a real crowd pleaser, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. Perfect for any dinner or just on their own.

3½ lbs Maris Piper or Yukon Gold potatoes (1.5 kg)

Olive Oil and Rosemary:
splash red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch fresh rosemary leaves
1 bulb garlic, broken into cloves, skin on
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

Butter, Olive Oil and Sage:
splash red wine vinegar
unsalted butter (50 g)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 bunch fresh sage leaves
1 clementine, thick zest strips
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

Goose Fat, Thyme and Bay Leaves:
splash red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. goose or duck fat
1 bunch fresh thyme leaves
2 fresh bay leaves
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C, Gas Mark 5).

Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they’re all an even size. Wash the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch, then put them into a large pot, cover with cold salted water and parboil for 7 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 3 minutes.

Give the colander a bit of a shake to help move around the potatoes - this will help to make them crispy later on. At this point, you need to decide which flavour profile to go with.

Olive Oil and Rosemary:
Add the olive oil to a baking pan. Add a splash of red wine vinegar. Add picked rosemary leaves. Add the garlic cloves with skin on. Using a large spoon, mix the potatoes with olive oil, rosemary and garlic cloves until well combined. Season really well with sea salt and pepper.

Butter, Olive Oil and Sage:
Add the olive oil to a baking pan. Add a splash of red wine vinegar. Add the butter. Add sage leaves. Peel the clementine skin into thick strips of zest with a speed-peeler and add to the pan. Using a large spoon, mix the potatoes with olive oil, butter, sage and clementine peel until well combined. Season really well with sea salt and pepper.

Goose Fat, Thyme and Bay Leaves:
Add the goose fat to a baking pan. Add a splash of red wine vinegar. Add picked thyme leaves. Add bay leaves. Using a large spoon, mix the potatoes with goose fat and herbs until well combined. Season really well with sea salt and pepper.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and gently squash (smash) each potato with a potato masher to increase the surface area - the more of your potato that’s in contact with the pan, the crispier it will be. Return to oven and bake until crisp and golden brown, 10-20 more minutes.

Transfer to a plate and serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.