Nothing makes Sunday dinner go down worse than crappy spuds so as yet another batch of megga spuds came out and I had a camera handy here's a sad but awsome pic of this Sundays spuds.
I nabbed the one far right and a couple of hidden ones that were even more crispy than the ones on the top.
All I do ... use whatever spuds you fancy, I think these where marfona but use King Edwards or Wilja, Red Rooster or anything you like.
First ... Peel your spuds and get them in some water ready but not on the heat yet ... Wait for it Soldier ......
Pop your oil into a good roasting pan, I use sunflower and a good pan with plenty of room.
Get the oven on - ours is fan assisted so 200 degrees or 220 if your on gas.
While the roasting pan is getting hot turn the spuds on and bring to the boil.
Once boiling time 5 mins and simmer the spuds (your oil should be getting nice and hot)
meanwhile .... prepare the secret ingredient...
For 4 people I use 4-5 heaped tablespoons of plain flour, 1 tea spoon of cornflour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
Mix well then grind a good measure of black pepper and some salt, stir again so it's all well mixed.
As soon as your 5 minutes are up, take the pan of spuds and drain quickly, you don't need to worry if the spuds are still wet, in fact it helps the next step so to drain mine quick I dump the pan into a bit colander then put the spuds straight back into the saucepan.
Put the lid on the pan and shake back and forth once or twice, you should notice when you take the lid off the spuds have fluffed up.
Now sprinkle most of the flour mixture over the spuds, put the lid on and shake to coat the spuds, if you need more flour then put some more in.
Take the roasting pan out with the (hot) oil and I lift the spuds out the saucepan they were boiled in into the roasting pan, that way you leave any excess flour behind etc. The spuds should sizzle as you put them in, a good sign your pan is hot enough.
All I do is put the spuds into the oil, don't worry that the top of the potatoes stays "dry", that will help if you leave it like that so one trick is not to have too much oil in your roasting pan. Just put them in the roasting pan but don't turn them over yet and don't be tempted to splash the oil over them to "get them started" you find using a little less oil and not turning them in the oil they turn out better !
Pop back in the oven, in 15 minutes check them and I normally turn them over at this time (gently please ... they will already be crisp on one side but will be slightly soggy on the other).
Back in the oven for 15 more minutes and check again (I turn them one last time here and you should have signs of some perfect spuds coming soon).
Another 15 minutes and they should be done, if you like them really dark and crispy (which we often do), turn the oven up to 220 for electric or 230-240 for gas when you first start and/or adjust cooking time if you find them cooking too quick.
When your done I lift them out the oil as much as possible rather than simply pour them out as if you coat them all in oil just before serving they can be a little oily but this is true of anything you serve like this.
So ... lift them out (I put them in a colander) and let them drain for a few moments before slapping peoples hands as they try and grab them ... Get OFF !!
I find keeping a large metal ladle in the hot fat essential for keeping grasping hands off, the combination of a physical smack with searing hot oil normally deters the casual spud pincher until next week.
Don't forget to check each spud as it comes out so you can carefully serve out the potatoes while keeping the choicest ones for yourself - something that's difficult with these spuds as they all come out great but others will argue comparing each spud with their own preference for crispness or colour against the select few you keep back for yourself.
You should end up with a spud that you can break windows with on the outside, crispy and firm that even stays crispy with some gravy on it ...... nice and crunchy with the salt and pepper giving it a little seasoning and taste, inside they are steaming, fluffy and soft.
The great thing about cooking them this way is if anyone you know is on a diet then you can eat them all yourself.
P.S they even keep well if you let them cool, we often make more than we can eat and our daughter has the left overs for tea which is not fair in my book !
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