Make foolproof roast spuds like a Michelin-starred chef
THE SECRET INGREDIENTS ARE GOOSE FAT AND SEMOLINA
ROAST potatoes are one of THE best parts of Christmas dinner - but how often do your roasties end up either burnt or undercooked?
We asked Nottingham’s two Michelin-starred chef Sat Bains for his tips on cooking the perfect spuds - and it will take your potatoes to another level.
The first step is to choose the right potatoes. Sat relies on specialist suppliers for the ingredients for his unique tasting menu at Restaurant Sat Bains in Lenton Lane, but when it comes to roasties at home he buys Albert Bartlett spuds, which can be found in Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda.
“I think they’re brilliant. A nice dry potato that’s got a floury texture,” he said.
“They are incredible. The secret is definitely the semolina, the duck fat and the salt and pepper.
“They are super, super crunchy and they have this incredible flavour of the duck fat, the seasoning, the thyme, a little bit of heat from the chilli, and they are perfect for roast poultry, roast pork, whatever you’re having on Christmas day lends itself to that dish.
“Duck fat gives it that flavour and seasonality. You can use goose fat or if you’re doing roast beef you can use dripping,” says Sat, who will be spending Christmas Day at home with his wife Amanda and their two rabbits.
But he probably won’t be having turkey. “Amanda does a really nice roast pork which is one of Lorraine Pascale’s recipes that I love and it’s finished with pears and root vegetables and garlic and you can put a nice Yorkshire pudding with it and some gravy.
“I like the idea of a buffet as well. We like snacking so cheese, meats, crudities, batons of carrots, chicory, onion you can dip in some hummus. I like that kind of all day grazing especially on Christmas Day with lots of films on, some nice wine and just chill. It’s been a very crazy year and it’s nice to have some stability and downtime.”
■ Sat’s method, below, is inspired by Yotam Ottalenghi:
Peel and cut them quite large, at least around 6cms or 7cms - “a nice big potato” and parboil them in salty water until they “just tender and soft to the touch”. Instead of giving an exact time, he says: “That depends on you. You’ve got to think about cooking with feel and touch until tender, there is no time on it.” Drain them off and then just press them a bit so there’s lots of little crunchy edges. “Break them down a little so they crack. The idea is you want a bigger surface area so by having lots of cracks in them you end up with these beautiful little pockets which are going to roast and get really crispy.”
Grate garlic and add chilli flakes to a bowl (you can skip this step if you’re not keen).
Add some fine semolina and a spoon of duck fat and then coat the potatoes in the mix. Make sure the semolina sticks to the pockets in the cracks.
Add some fresh thyme and pinch of sea salt and pepper. Cook in a non-stick roasting tin on a high heat, 200° to 220°C, and turn every 10 minutes.
■ What happened when we followed the method:
In a practice run for Christmas dinner, we had a go at the roasties to accompany a standard roast chicken Sunday roast.
Normally I use Maris Piper and cut the potatoes much smaller, parboil for 10 minutes and then roast at 180°C for around 45 minutes in sunflower oil (it used to be lard but we’re trying to be healthier). I can almost sense all the professional chefs out there wincing.
Following Sat Bains’ instructions I bought Albert Bartlett spuds and after peeling cut them in half.
Unsure how long to boil for I tried 15 minutes. I was cautious about pressing too hard and breaking them so there probably weren’t as many cracks as there could have been.
After adding garlic, chilli flakes, semolina, a couple of springs of thyme and enough duck fat to coat them, I popped them in the oven at a higher temperature than usual and, as instructed, turned every 10 minutes. The bonus was having a second oven to cook the Yorkshire puddings in, otherwise they’d have ended up flat with all that door opening.
The end result - golden roasties with a crisp outer coating, more textured than usual due to the semolina, while inside was soft and fluffy.
Personally, I’d hold back on the garlic but I definitely enjoyed the occasional blast of heat from the dried chillies. The duck fat and thyme added further layers of flavour.
Next stop: Christmas dinner and wowing the family.