Herbed roast potatoes with garlic

Serves 6-8

You will need:

1 teaspoon salt 10-12 large floury potatoes, peeled and halved, or quartered if large 3-5 tablespoons olive oil, duck fat or goose fat or beef dripping Sea salt 1 head of garlic, broken into cloves but left unpeeled 1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons chopped rosemary leaves

1

Preheat the oven to 220°C,425°F, Gas 7.

2

Add the teaspoon of salt to a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil. Drop in the potato pieces and cook them for 10 minutes. Drain off all the water and shake the potatoes around in the dry saucepan with the lid on. This will roughen the surface of the potatoes, and help make them crisper when they are roasting in the oven.

3

Put a roasting tin on a high heat and drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, or the duck fat, or the goose fat, or the beef dripping, whichever you’re using. Once it is really hot, add the potatoes and toss them in the oil or fat, making sure they are well coated (add the remaining oil or fat if they are not). Sprinkle the potatoes with the sea salt and roast them in the oven for 45-55 minutes.

4

Add the unpeeled cloves of garlic after 15-20 minutes, tossing them in the oil or fat. At this stage, if you think the potatoes are dark enough, turn the oven down to 200°C, 400°F, Gas 6. Baste the potatoes (spoon over the hot oil or fat) occasionally, and turn them over half-way through the cooking time.

5

Finally, sprinkle the chopped thyme leaves or the chopped rosemary leaves, whichever you’re using, over the potatoes 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Serve the potatoes immediately, or keep them warm in a low oven (don’t cover them or they will go soggy). Push the garlic cloves out of their skins and eat with the crispy potatoes.