Potatoes

Jamie's Perfect Roast Potatoes

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Ingredients

Flavour Combo 1
Flavour Combo 2
Flavour Combo 3

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
  2. Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they’re all an even-size – twice the size of a squash ball is about right.
  3. Wash the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch then tip into a large pot, cover with cold salted water and parboil for 7 minutes, then drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 3 minutes.
  4. Give the colander a bit of a shake to help chuff up the potatoes – this will help to make them super-crisp later on.
  5. At this point, you need to decide which flavour combo to go with. Tip the potatoes into a large tray in one layer, and add the fat – olive oil, butter or goose fat – then season really well with sea salt and black pepper.
  6. Toss the potatoes in the fat (you could get the potatoes up to this stage the day before, simply cover them with clingfilm or tin foil and pop in the fridge or in a cool place until needed), then roast for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden and three quarters cooked.
  7. Now’s the time for my trick. Gently squash 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.
  8. Add 1 good lug of oil to a small bowl and pick and/or tear in the herbs. If opting for flavour combo 2, peel in a good few strips of clementine zest with a speed-peeler – you won’t eat these but they’ll add amazing flavour. Break up the garlic bulb, adding the unpeeled cloves to the bowl, along with a splash of red wine vinegar, then scrunch and mix it up a bit.
  9. Add your chosen flavour combo to the potatoes and give the pan a good shake, then pop back in the hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until gnarly, crispy, bubbly and delicious.
  10. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain off some of the excess fat, then tuck in!

Potato Wedges

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Ingredients

Method

  1. To prepare and cook your potato wedges:
    Preheat your oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas 6. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.
  2. Scrub the potatoes clean and get rid of any gnarly bits. Cut the potatoes into chunky wedges. Add to the pan of boiling water and parboil for 8 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for a couple of minutes.
  3. Transfer to a roasting tray and add a good lug of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss together so all the wedges are coated in the oil then spread out in one layer. Cook in the hot oven for 30 minutes until golden, crisp and cooked through. Delicious served with steak or chicken.

Notes

Sous-Vide Mashed Potatoes

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Ingredients

Method

  1. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 90ºC.
  2. Rinse and peel the potatoes. Slice into 3mm-thick rounds.
  3. Smash and peel the garlic cloves.
  4. Combine the potatoes, garlic, butter, milk, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons salt in a large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting. Place in the water bath and set the timer for 1 1/2 hours.
  5. When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath. Pour the entire contents of the bag through a strainer set in a medium bowl. Discard the rosemary.
  6. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and mash using a potato masher, rice, or food mill. To get a super smooth texture, pass the mashed potatoes through a tamis, chinois, or sieve. (Do NOT use a food processor, electric mixer, or blender – due to the starch in the potatoes, if you over mix the potatoes you’ll end up with a gluey texture.)
  7. Gently stir the strained melted butter and milk into the mashed potatoes. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Garnish with additional fresh rosemary. Serve.

Notes

Potato Dauphinoise

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Ingredients

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas Mark 3. Rub a gratin dish liberally with the butter.

  2. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly, either with a sharp knife or a mandoline.

  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, garlic and nutmeg and season well with salt and pepper.

  4. Toss the potatoes in the creamy mixture, then layer them in the gratin dish, spreading them as flat and evenly as you can. Pour over any remaining cream.

  5. Bake for 1 – 1.5 hours, pressing down with a spatula every 15 minutes or so to compress the potatoes and stop them drying out. The gratin is ready when the top is golden and bubbling and the potatoes are tender. You may want to turn the oven up to 190–200°C (Gas Mark 5 or 6) for the last 5 minutes to achieve a bit of extra bubbling crispness.

  6. Leave to stand for 5 minutes or so before serving.

Notes