Best Roast Potatoes

Living in London made me aware of the importance of getting roast potatoes just right. The Sunday roast lunch is sacrosanct there and "roasties" play a big part in it. I could not believe all of the recipes that I came across with a myriad of (to me) unnecessary steps - from parboiling before roasting, to shaking the cooked potatoes in a pan to bash them around before adding semolina for extra crispiness.

As far as I am concerned, the most important thing about getting proper roast potatoes -- and by this I mean golden crispy exterior and soft creamy interior -- is using much more fat than you normally would in a recipe.

This recipe makes enough for two people rather than my usual one. You can use regular potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces, but I chose Yellow Golds because they don't need to be peeled and are small enough that I just needed to half them before using saving prep time.

2 servings of prepped potatoes (serving sizes for this are subjective; I used 10 small potatoes and halved them)

1 cup fat (I used rendered duck fat but olive oil, lard, or veggie oil in general work as well)

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled but crushed

2 sprigs rosemary

Salt to taste

Turn the oven to 425.

Place the aromatics and the fat in an oven safe dish and place in the oven as soon as you have turned it on.

By the time it has preheated, your aromatics should be making the kitchen smell lovely and your fat should be sizzling away in the pan.

Tip in the potatoes and cook for thirty minutes, turning the potatoes over every ten minutes or so so that as many sides as possible have access to the hot fat.

After thirty minutes, remove from the oven and - using a slotted spoon or tongs -- remove the potatoes to a paper towel lined plate.

Roll the potatoes around on the plate to remove excess oil before salting well.

We had our roasties with filet mignons cooked medium rare, homemade Béarnaise sauce and roasted broccoli rabe for a subdued but elegant Christmas dinner main course.