Dinner Tonight: Blumenthal’s Roast Potatoes
This is my roast potato recipe. When people come over and I want to impress them with a seemly simple recipe that completely blows their mind, this is what I make. What makes it so fascinating is the perfectly creamy interior encased by this crispy exterior—they taste like no roast potatoes I know. Best of all, I found the recipe buried in Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection.
To be fair, these aren’t 100% Heston Blumenthal’s roast potatoes—that would be too much to ask. I didn’t soak the potatoes in water for 15 minutes and change the water every 5 minutes, I couldn’t find Maris Piper potatoes, and I didn’t boil the potatoes with a big filled with their peelings. Aside from all that, the essential technique is the same. The potatoes are boiled for 20 minutes, drained and banged around a bit, and then roasted until the oil seeps into the rough edges, which makes them unbelievably crispy. It’s a relatively simple technique, but one that will impress the simple dinner party beyond all belief.
About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is a co-founder of The Paupered Chef, a blog dedicated to saving time and money while enjoying food in every way possible. He sells wine for a living and lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Blumenthal’s Roast Potatoes
- serves 3-4 -
Adapted from In Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal.
Ingredients
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
Parsley, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. When ready, add the quartered potatoes. Cook them for 20 minutes. Drain in a colander, and shake them around to rough up the edges, making sure not to completely break up the pieces.
3. Toss the potatoes in a large roasting pan. Pour in the oil, and stir the potatoes to coat. Season with salt. Cook for 45 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 15 minutes or so.
4. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with parsley and season with pepper.
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9 Comments:
Now that sounds perfect! Doing the simplest, common thing exceptionally well really does amaze and impress....
Cary at 3:54PM on 05/30/08
I make a similar roast potato, but I cut it into bite-size cubes instead of quarters (so I boil it for less time -- 5 minutes or a bit longer). Also, while the oven's preheating, I put in the roasting pan with the oil already in it, so it's already nice and hot and begins to crisp the potato edges as soon as they hit the pan.
I also prefer this recipe with salt as the only seasoning -- the pure simplicity is what makes it so perfect!
Tactful_Cactus at 4:15PM on 05/30/08
If you get a chance to find Maris Piper, do it. I've made them using his recipe when I found them at the farmer's market and they are exquisite. I also don't change the water every five minutes, but I just leave them in a bowl in the sink with the water slowly drizzling in. I figure it's about the same.
Boiling them with their skin does actually improve their flavor, but unless it's a special occasion I skip that step. In fact with a Maris Piper (or a Yukon Gold) I will usually skip the peeling step all together.
Finally, the one way I've figured to improve this recipe is to swap at least 1/2 of the oil for duck fat. I have experimented with the quantity and although using only duck fat tastes best, using 1/2 duck fat keeps most of the flavor and is a bit healthier.
arbeck at 4:35PM on 05/30/08
@arbeck
I was just coming back to mention the duck fat, but you beat me to it!
I like the idea of half and half -- easier on the wallet too.
Tactful_Cactus at 5:26PM on 05/30/08
My friend just found his tv shows on youtube. They're fantastic!
lethargarian at 5:31PM on 05/30/08
These kinds of recipes are why I really enjoy the Paupered Chef blog.
Joseph Bayot at 1:23AM on 05/31/08
I use pretty much the same recipe, but skip the parsley and add some rosemary, you should try it :)
RobinB at 5:15PM on 05/31/08
i just made this but added some goose fat when shaking the potatoes up, as opposed to when they go in the pan. and i added some unpeeled cloves of garlic to roast alongside. they came out extra crispy and very yummy!
shelmabel at 11:14AM on 08/02/09
Yeah thinking about making this for a coming dinner..... How about bacon grease???? I can't say I have any goose or duck fat on hand.. Thinking about roast potatoes with shallots, bacon, and rosemary, what do you think..?
Annagail at 9:23PM on 09/22/09