Roasted Potatoes (2008-10-10)
This recipe is inspired by Jamie Oliver's roasted potatoes which uses a technique less "dangerous" than the one used by Delia Smith, whose recipe I've been following.
Delia Smith would par-boil the potatoes, shake them crazily in the
pot to rough up the surface, then toss them in boiling hot oil which
has a real danger of the hot fat splattering on your hands. Jamie
Oliver does his by boiling the taters, then mashing each with his thumb
to crumble them slightly, drizzle liberally with olive oil and bake.
The most important factor for this recipe to work is to use very
floury potatoes which crumble beautifully. I also toss in a few
sprigs of rosemary with the potatoes just because I've got such a big
bush in our "garden". You can use other herbs such as thyme or
nothing at all, the star of this recipe is the very crunchy potatoes
afterall. The ingredients amount aren't that crucial, adjust or
alter according to taste.
Ingredients (2-3 servings)
8 or 9 small floury potatoes (about 5cm/2 inches in diameter), 20 or
so cherry tomatoes, 2 -3
rosemary sprigs cut into finger lengths, 1 tsp salt, freshly milled
black
pepper, olive oil
Steps:
1. Boil potatoes uncovered on medium high heat for 20 minutes.
2. Put them in a large bowl, cool 10 minutes.
3. Use your thumb or the back of a spoon and press on the surface of
the potatoes till they crumble slightly.
4. Toss in the cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper and drizzle the lot with a
good amount of olive oil (about 3-4 Tbsp), mix with a spatula.
5. Transfer to a roasting pan, tuck rosemary amongst the
taters. Roast in a preheated 200C (400F) oven, UPPER shelf, 45
minutes. Serve immediately.
Note: The cherry tomatoes add an interesting sweet and sour tang to
the
dish and help to caramelize the bottom of the potatoes with their
juices, so do try to include them in the recipe.
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