Olivver Easy Peasy Killer Roasties

 

I’ve experimented with dozens of ways to make crispy roast potatoes over the years… all with varying degrees of success. And a lot of the methods have required expensive ingredients like duck fat or fannying about shaking them in flour and praying to the food goods for heaven-sent crispiness. Forget all that. ⁣

Here’s a dead simple trick to produce mind-blowing roasties - every single time. For this batch I used Leon Narbey’s Premium Frantoio Novello from olivver.co.nz. And that is the secret - really, really good EVOO! 

The results were sensational… crispy and golden on the outside, fluffy and perfect on the inside. I made enough for four people but two of us ended up scoffing the lot. ⁣

(And this method also once again proves that a really good quality extra virgin olive oil is the BEST choice for high temperature cooking, despite some of the stuff that floats around the internet!⁣)

It could not be simpler:⁣

1. Oven - pre-heated to 210 deg C (fan-force) or 230 deg C (conventional)
2. Premium extra virgin olive oil - enough to coat the oven tray with a couple of millimetres of oil
3. Whack the oven tray bearing the olive oil into the oven while it pre-heats…
4.…and you peel the potatoes (I used agria) and then boil them salted water for about 12 minutes.
5. Drain spuds; spread out on the tray of hot olive oil, turning to coat.
6. Bake: around 60 mins, turning a couple of times. (Turn temp down to 200 deg C for the last 10 mins if looking done enough on the outside.)
Consume, ideally with lashings of seasoning and fistfuls of herbs - I like rosemary. Die happy.

Top tip: Your oven needs to be hot. Temp readings aren't always accurate. Go hotter and trim the temperature down if you see a few wisps of smoke. (If you do, don't be alarmed, top quality EVOO is highly stable at high temperatures).