Exceptionally good potatoes

Adding bicarb soda to your cooking water when parboiling potatoes can help to break down the surface of the potatoes. This technique creates the ideal rough texture that crisps up beautifully during roasting, making for an incredibly satisfying bite – fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 kg red new potatoes (or other new potatoes), unpeeled
• 1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
• ½ cup ghee
• vegetable oil, for drizzling
• sea salt flakes

Spud salt

• ¼ cup salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chicken stock powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp Keen's curry powder

Drying time: 5 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C fan-forced (220˚C standard). Use a sharp knife to prick the potatoes, then place into a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the sodium bicarbonate and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes until a small, sharp knife can be easily inserted into the potatoes. Drain and allow to stand for about 5 minutes to steam dry.
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and use a cooking weight or the bottom of a pan to flatten the potatoes to approximately 2 cm thick. You can put a piece of baking paper between the base of the saucepan and the potatoes while you squash them if you want to keep the base of the saucepan clean.
3. Spoon the ghee over the potatoes and drizzle with vegetable oil. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, then roast for 40-60 minutes, or until browned and crisp.
4. For the spud salt, combine the ingredients together and mix well.
5. To serve, lift the potatoes from the baking tray directly on the baking paper onto your serving plate (this will help with washing up!). Trim away any excess baking paper with kitchen scissors and season the potatoes with the spud salt.

Note

• Ghee can be substituted for olive oil, vegetable oil, or duck fat. Roast the potatoes in a single layer, use a second tray if needed!

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Simply Spuds

Watch The Full Episode Here

G

Watch The Full Episode Here

G