Crash Hot Potatoes.

I know how to make perfect roast potatoes. 

This is not a lightly made assertion.  Last winter, armed with three types of potato, four different fats, a timer, an oven and an Exel spreadsheet, I spent the best part of five hours carefully testing all the varients (including parboiling times, roasting temperatures and ovenware) of roast potato making.

No.  I’m not kidding.   It was all very Heston Blumenthal.  And my hard work paid off.  After five oven blasted hours I knew the secrets of the perfect roast potato.

It was, therefore, with more than a little chagrin that the very first time I tried the following Jill Dupliex recipe it resulted in a crispy yet fluffy potato which (aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggggggh) is every bit as perfect as those scientifically tested tatties of last winter. 

And it’s a much simpler recipe.

Harrumph. 

Crash Hot Potatoes

(serves 4)

16 small, round potatoes (skin left on)

Olive oil

Rosemary

Seasoning

• Add the potatoes to a large pan of salted water.  Bring to the boil.  Simmer briskly for 15 minutes or until potatoes are almost cooked.
• Remove potatoes from the pan and place on a baking tray.  Using a masher or the back of a big spoon, gently squish each potato until they are half intact, half broken up.
• Sprinkle with rosemary and seasoning then brush or spray generously with olive oil.
• Roast in a very hot (225oC) oven for 15-20 minutes.

And that’s it.  Harrumph.