Roast potatoes

A roast dinner is not complete without flavoursome and hopefully crispy roast potatoes. You can't go wrong with this method, although it is of course best if you prepare these in the same tin as a joint of beef or a leg of lamb for example.

Crispy roast potatoes (to serve 4)

Ingredients

6 large potatoes (Maris Piper works superbly, but try whatever you have available)

two tablespoons of oil

25g butter

fresh rosemary

dried rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Quarter the potatoes and place them in cold water with salt added according to your taste. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to simmer for five minutes.
   
2. Turn on the oven to 200 degrees and add half of the oil to a roasting tin. Place the tin in the oven so that the oil is hot.
   
3. Strain the water from the potatoes and while holding the lid on give the potatoes a good shake in the pan. Add the remaining oil, butter and rosemary and give another quick shake.
   
4. Bring out the pan of hot oil and add the potatoes carefully as the oil may splatter.
   
5. Holding the pan with the oven gloves give it a shake and before the oil loses too much heat return it to the oven.
   
6. After 20 minutes turn the potatoes over and return to the oven. Turn the oven up to max and cook for another 20 minutes until the potatoes appear crispy and golden brown.
   

If you are cooking a piece of meet at the same time, do as above, but add to the oil of the meat instead for extra flavour. 

You'll need to take the meat out before turning up the heat towards the end of this method.