Perfect Traditionally English Roast Potatoes Food

PERFECT TRADITIONALLY ENGLISH ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Peel and quarter potatoes.
• Place in a saucepan with water and a pinch of the salt.
• Bring to a boil and simmer them for 5-6 mins to slightly soften.
• Meanwhile preheat your oven to 400°F.
• When the potatoes have simmered drain them thoroughly in a colander shaking to roughen edges.
• Let sit for a few mins to dry.
• Pour just enough vegetable oil into a roasting pan (large enough to allow space around the potatoes) to cover bottom and heat in oven for a few minutes.
• Gently place potatoes into the hot oil and coat them with it evenly.
• Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the potatoes.
• Every so often baste the potatoes in the oil to prevent drying (try not to move potatoes).
• Turn potatoes once or twice (no more) halfway through (after 20 mins or so) to ensure even cooking.
• Cook for 30-60 mins until gold and crispy (observe closely once near end).

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
• Put the potatoes into a pan and just cover with water. Add a tablespoon of salt, cover with a lid, and bring to the boil. Boil for 15 minutes, until cooked (they will slide off when pierced with a knife). Drain thoroughly in a colander, then set the colander on top of the cooking pan and cover the potatoes with a tea towel. Set aside for 10 minutes to steam dry.
• Meanwhile, put the vegetable oil, dripping, or duck fat into a roasting tin and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.
• Gently toss the potatoes around a little in the colander. Tip the potatoes into the tin of hot fat and give it a shake to spread the potatoes out in the pan, but don't worry about turning them. Put the tin into the oven and roast for 20 minutes. At this point give the potatoes a turn and then return them to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper and serve.

PERFECT ROASTIES - ROAST POTATOES FOR ENGLISH SUNDAY LUNCH

Steps:

• Par-boil the potatoes first.
• Once they are peeled and cut into similar sizes (small potatoes in two, large ones in four), put the potatoes into cold, salted water and bring to the boil. As soon as they start boiling, boil for about 5 to 6 minutes, then drain all the water off (keeping some for the gravy later), let some of the steam evaporate off, then put the lid on securely and shake the potatoes in the pan until the edges are roughened and fluffed up.
• Add the flour and shake again, to coat all the potatoes in a thin coating of flour. This is what will absorb the hot oil to make a crisp surface as the potatoes roast. Leave the lid off now so they dry a little until the oil is ready.
• Heat the oil first.
• In a roasting pan, that is large enough to take the potatoes in a single layer, put enough vegetable oil, duck fat or goose fat to cover the bottom with ease. The potatoes mustn't be bathed in the oil, so keep it less than ½ cm or ¼ inch deep.
• Put the tray into the hot oven (200°C/400°F) for 10 minutes before the potatoes need to go inches Once the oil is smoking hot, put the potatoes in so they sizzle and turn them around so they are all coated in the hot fat/oil, then return the tray to the oven to roast. The potatoes can be turned two or three times during cooking.
• Timing.
• The potatoes need to stay in the hot oven until the very last minute when you are ready to serve lunch. If they hang around keeping warm they lose their crisp edge and gradually dwindle into leathery bullets. They need 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours at 200°C/400°F to reach optimum crispiness. Time the meat to be ready 10 minutes before them, so it can rest, you can make the gravy and summon the troops to table, and only then produce the potatoes still sizzling from the oven, and sprinkled with freshly milled sea salt.
• (If people are late in arriving for lunch, the potatoes can take another 10-15 minutes getting even more crispy in the oven, but after that I'd just get on and eat them without the latecomers!).
• Roasting tin.
• I get the crispiest results from my enamel roasting tins. Pyrex or glass trays result in softer, less crispy potatoes. Metal trays are also excellent for roasting potatoes.
• Temperature.
• Keep the hottest part of the oven for the potatoes. Juggling the roast meat, roast potatoes and everything in a small oven is tricky but the potatoes will only get crisp if they can roast in blazing heat for a while. If all else fails, when the meat comes out, turn the oven up to the highest heat and put the potatoes on the top shelf for a blasting. Last on the list of emergency remedies, put them under a hot grill (broiler) for the last five minutes while you are getting the table ready.

SPICY ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 C).
• Wash the potatoes.
• Cut in half lengthwise, then cut each piece in half again lengthwise, leaving you with eight wedges per potato.
• You can either leave them this thickness, or cut each wedge in half crossways, giving you 16 triangles per potato.
• Put in a big bowl and rinse with water to wash the starch off.
• Drain as much water as you can from the potatoes, then add in the olive oil.
• Stir to coat.
• Mix the spices together, then sprinkle over the oiled potatoes.
• Stir again until all the potatoes are coated evenly.
• Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet (I line mine with aluminium foil to help with clean up).
• Grind over some black pepper and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
• Halfway through the baking, use a spatula to turn the potatoes over.

IVY HOUSE ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into even-size pieces (Ivy House used Marfona and allowed 4 pieces per person).
• Put potatoes in boiling salted water. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 mins.
• Meanwhile, melt lard in a thick roasting pan in the oven at 220C/fan 200/gas 7. (Ivy House tried both goose fat and butcher's beef dripping, but found neither as successful as good old lard.)
• Drain the potatoes and put back in the saucepan with a couple of tbsp of semolina. Cover the pan and shake it to rough up the potatoes.
• Remove the baking tray from the oven and put the potatoes in the lard, turning to coat each one in the melted lard.
• Return the tray to the oven and roast for 40 mins, turning the potatoes 2-3 times as necessary.
• Remove tray from the oven and put the potatoes in a serving dish. Return the dish of potatoes to the hot oven for 10 mins to dry any fat off. Serve straight away - roast potatoes wait for no man!

PERFECT ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Cut your peeled potatoes into chunks, approximately the size of an egg.
• Par-boil them in salted water for about 8 minutes.
• Set aside and leave to cool completely.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6.
• Pour the oil and dripping into a large roasting tin and place in the hot oven to heat.
• Rough up the sides of the potatoes by scratching them with a fork and season with salt.
• When the oil is hot, carefully place the potatoes in a single layer in the oil.
• Baste or turn over immediately, so they are coated with oil on all sides.
• Roast for 45 minutes, turning at least once.
• After that time, it's up to you to decide whether they are crispy enough or whether to give them another 15 minutes.
• Drain of fat and place on paper towels to absorb more access fat.
• Season again with salt before serving.

OLD ENGLAND TRADITIONAL ROAST BEEF AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING

Steps:

• Combined method for cooking the Roast Beef and the Yorkshire Pudding:.
• Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
• Put the joint of beef into a shallow baking tray or tin.
• Season the meat to taste with a little salt and black pepper, and English mustard powder if using.
• Melt half of the beef dripping and pour over the meat and seasoning.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 190C/375F/Gas 5 for a further 1 1/2 hours. This will give you rare roast beef in the middle.
• When cooked, put the meat in a warm place to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving and serving, and then turn up the heat to 240C,475F or gas mark 9.
• Pour the remainder of the beef dripping into a cake baking tray (The type of baking tray used to make small cakes / muffins). Put the tray, with a little bit of dripping in each of the depressions in the tray, into the oven for 3 minutes or until you see the dripping smoke.
• Remove from the oven and pour 2 tablespoons of the Yorkshire Pudding batter (see below for batter recipe) into each cake depression and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until well puffed up and golden brown. DO NOT Open the door for the first 10 minutes!
• Meanwhile carve and portion the beef on to hot plates, and make a gravy using the juices left in the roasting. As soon as the Yorkshire pudding is ready, serve, with mustard and horseradish sauce, roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.
• To make the Yorkshire Pudding Mixture (Batter):.
• Sift the flour into a large bowl.
• and add the beaten eggs into the centre of the heap of flour.
• Mix the water and the milk together in a jug. Pour the mixture slowly onto the flour and egg. As you start to pour the water/milk slowly beat the mixture together with a whisk. Add the salt and continue to beat. The puddings will be lighter if the batter includes a little air.
• Once all the ingredients have been beaten together leave to stand, covered by a cloth, for 40 minutes or so.
• Now you are at 'step 8' in the main cooking method. Your oven should be very hot and your tray for the puddings very hot.
• Tip: The bigger the joint, the better the meat, and it should always be cooked on the bone. The meat should have a good covering of fat, be dark red in colour (which shows it has been hung properly), and have a good marbling of fat throughout.
• Sprinkling some English mustard powder over the top of the meat gives a great crust and a fabulous taste.