Roasted Potatoes
Aperçu
Potatoes cut into chunks, tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic, and roasted until browned and crisp. No country is claimed and none applies, this is the standard Western roast potato. The one piece of technique worth understanding is parboiling, which the source explains well in its text and then leaves out of its method. Boiling the cut potatoes briefly before they go into the oven does two things: it cooks the inside through so the oven only has to work on the outside, and it roughens the surface so that fat can get into the cracks. That roughened surface is what turns into crust. Skip it and the skin stays smooth and tough, and the fat sits on the outside instead of crisping it. Giving the drained potatoes a good shake in the pan before they are dressed roughs them up further, and is the single cheapest improvement you can make. Drying matters too. A wet potato steams before it browns. Any variety works, though they behave differently: floury potatoes such as russets and Maris Piper give a fluffier interior and a crisper crust, while waxy red and new potatoes hold their shape and crisp less. This recipe uses small red or white potatoes. Africa has deep roasted-tuber traditions, yam, cassava and sweet potato from street braziers, but this is not one of them.
Ingrédients
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Préparation
- 1
Heat the oven to 400°F / 200°C.
- 2
Cut the potatoes in half or into quarters, depending on size, so the pieces are roughly even.
- 3Optional but strongly recommended
cook the cut potatoes in boiling water for about 10 minutes, until the outsides are soft but the centres are still firm. Drain them thoroughly and shake them in the pan to roughen the surfaces.
- 4
Dry the potatoes well, then toss in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic until evenly coated.
- 5
Spread them out on a baking tray in a single layer, cut sides down, with space between the pieces.
- 6
Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, until browned and crisp, turning them twice with a spatula so they colour evenly.
- 7
Toss with the parsley, season to taste and serve hot.
Notes de l’Africook
- Parboil and shake. The source describes this in its text but leaves it out of the method, and it is the difference between good roast potatoes and ordinary ones.
- Dry them thoroughly after draining. Wet potatoes steam in the oven rather than browning.
- Give them room on the tray. Crowded potatoes trap steam between them and go soft.
- Add the garlic with the oil rather than at the end, minced garlic on a hot tray for a full hour can catch and turn bitter, so keep the pieces coarse.
- A hotter oven crisps faster; a cooler one is more forgiving. Anywhere from 375°F to 425°F works.
- Floury potatoes give a fluffier inside and a crisper crust; waxy ones hold their shape better. Both are fine, they are just different.
Questions fréquentes
Do I have to parboil them?
Not strictly, but it is what separates good roast potatoes from ordinary ones. Ten minutes in boiling water cooks the interior through, so the oven only has to crisp the outside, and it softens the surface so that shaking the drained potatoes in the pan roughens them up. Those rough edges are what catch the fat and turn into crust. Without parboiling, the skin stays smooth and tough and the oil simply sits on the surface.
What is the best potato for roasting?
Either kind works, they just behave differently. Floury potatoes, russets, Maris Piper, King Edward, have a fluffier interior and take a crisper crust, which is why they are the traditional British choice. Waxy potatoes such as red, new and Charlotte hold their shape better and give a denser, creamier inside with less crust. This recipe uses small red or white potatoes. What matters far more than the variety is the parboiling, the drying and the space on the tray.
Why aren't mine crisp?
Almost always one of three things. The potatoes were wet when they went into the oven, so they steamed before they could brown. The tray was crowded, so the steam had nowhere to go. Or they were not parboiled and shaken, so there was no roughened surface for the fat to work on. Fixing all three, and giving them a genuinely hot oven, deals with nearly every case.
Is this an African dish?
No. This is the standard Western roast potato and no country is attached to it. It sits in Worldwide Recipes under Global, with its URL unchanged so that existing search traffic to the page is preserved. Africa has extensive roasted tuber traditions of its own, yam, cassava, sweet potato and plantain roasted over braziers and sold on the street across the continent, but they are distinct dishes with their own methods.
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