Life’s too short to suffer bad roast potatoes, but thankfully I wouldn’t know because mine are pretty awesome!

A tad conceited perhaps, but my roast potatoes almost never fail to come out golden, delicious and with that all important “crunch”!

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lone “trick” to making the perfect roast potato, but rather a series of simple, yet essential, steps that yield the desired result. Parboiling the potatoes in heavily salted water is a vitally important part of the recipe, so don’t be tempted to skip it.

Arguably the most important factor in making your roast potatoes is, however, the fat you chose to cook them in. There are a variety of options out there, but I prefer using duck fat. Healthy and relatively easy to source, duck fat makes for great results!

Roast Potatoes

• Medium sized potatoes (1.5 to 2 per person)
• Salt
• Duck fat (1 tsp. per potato)

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 deg. Celsius
2. Peel your potatoes and cut into quarters
3. In a bowl, cover the potatoes in cold water and leave for 10 to 15 minutes
4. Boil a kettle of water
5. Place a shallow metal baking tray at the top shelf of the oven. Add the duck fat
6. In a pot, add the freshly boiled water and the salt (about 1/2 tsp. for every two potatoes). Return the water to the boil
7. Drain the potatoes and carefully add to the boiling water
8. Partially cover the pot and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the potatoes are parboiled (soft enough that the edges can be pierced by a fork, but not falling apart)
9. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Cover and give the pot a jolly good shake to fluff up the potatoes. Leave the covered pot to one side
10. Carefully remove the baking tray from the oven and place on the stove-top over a medium to high flame
11. Add the parboiled potatoes and “fry” them in the duck fat (3 to 4 minutes per side). Do not overcrowd the tray as this will affect the final result
12. Return the potatoes to the hot oven and cook for at least 10 minutes, after which turn the potatoes
13. Continue cooking until the potatoes are golden brown – the cooking time is determined by how many potatoes you are cooking and the size you’ve cut them into. The more potatoes, the longer the overall cooking times. Generally speaking though, it should take another 20 or so minutes
14. Once the potatoes are done, drain them on some kitchen roll before serving
15. No additional seasoning is required due to the initial salt in the parboiling part of the process