Earlier this week, The Times of London were analyzing which was the best fat, or oil to cook Roast Potatoes for Christmas Dinner and so, I thought I might add my own thoughts to this controversial  debate

In my opinion, the perfect Roast Potato should have a fluffy crispy skin and a soft melt in your mouth interior and adding some herbal garlic flavor that lifts them from the ordinary. My recipe turns this common side dish into a delight

Ingredients (for 4)

The key ingredients

• 4 large potatoes – I use the Yukon Gold variety, which is just fantastic for roasting but  in the UK, Maris Piper are a more common variety that work just as well
• 2-3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary – around a tbsp of leaves
• A couple of cloves of garlic – peeled and chopped
• Maldon sea salt flakes and fresh ground pepper
• 3-4 generous knobs of hard vegetable cooking  spread (yes, I mean margarine, please don’t be shocked foodies!)
• Around 1 tbsp of canola / rapeseed oil

Method

The 3 stages of cooking – note the fluffy exterior of the potatoes about to be roasted

• Peel each potato and dice it lengthwise into equal wedges
• Add the potatoes to a pot of boiling salted water and cook on high heat for around 5-6 minutes to soften their exterior – you need to do this to get the fluffiness that will absorb the fat
• Remove from the water and drain
• Meanwhile heat your oven to 425 f / 200 c adding the vegetable fat to a roasting dish, pop it into the oven until the fat melts
• Then, remove from the oven, add the potatoes and muddle about until covered in the fat, drizzle in the oil and stir again
• Sprinkle over the garlic and rosemary, sea salt and pepper
• Return the roasting dish in the oven for around 30 minutes, or until the outer layer of the potatoes has crisped golden

Serve immediately for Roasted Potato Nirvana

Postscript

Apparently, the experts blind tested at The Times concluded a vegetable oil they bought from a supermarket worked best but what do you think?  Check out the poll and let me know