Top Tips For Perect Roasties This Christmas

Dec. 7, 2010 - PRLog -- WHEN it comes to cooking up roasties, the potato people at Branston Ltd are the experts – and they have come up with some top tips for the best roast potatoes this Christmas.

Branston, the UK’s largest supplier of potatoes, with sites in Lincoln, Scotland and Somerset, has many years of expertise.  As well as providing Tesco with 300,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes every year, it also produces over 11 million packs of prepared vegetable products at its Lincolnshire factory - including fresh ready-to-roast potatoes which go straight into the oven in their foil tray.

James Hayles, development chef at Branston who creates mouth-watering recipes for Branston Prepared foods, said: “Our ready to roast potatoes are great when you need convenience, but lots of us still like to make our own from scratch. Everyone has their own way of cooking roasties but here at Branston we’ve been working with potatoes for more than 40 years, so we’ve had plenty of time to perfect our cooking techniques. We know the best way to boil them, mash them, bake them – and roast them!”

It’s really important to use the right sort of potato, says James. For roasties, a floury spud like a King Edward or Maris Piper is best. Branston’s new variety Saphire is also great for roasting – it gives a lovely crispy outside and a soft and fluffy inside.

“Boil your spuds first, but be careful not to overcook or they’ll end up mushy,” says James. “Drain them as soon as they’re lightly cooked through, preferably using a colander and give them a good shake in the colander to rough up the edges. You can then start roasting them straight away, or you can leave them to cool and dry out for a while first. If you put them back in the pan to dry out put a clean dry tea towel over the top to the moisture.  

“When you’re ready to start roasting it’s important to get the oil or fat really hot to start them off. If you only have one oven and need it at a lower temperature for the rest of the meal put the roasting tray on a hot hob first, get the oil sizzling hot and cook the spuds there until they start to crisp, and then put them in the oven to finish off.

I like to top them off with a little salt to get them really crispy. And for a bit of extra flavour I sometimes add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme half way through cooking,” said James.



Here’s a basic recipe for great roast potatoes:
What you’ll need:
Good quality ‘floury’ potatoes (allow around 300g for each person)
Oil, fat, or duck or goose fat

Pre-heat your oven to 200ºc
What to do:
•   Peel the potatoes and cut into large, even-sized chunks
•   Rinse in cold water to wash away excess starch
•   Put the potatoes into a pan and cover with cold water and a little salt
•   Bring to the boil and simmer for around 10 minutes
•   Drain the potatoes and give them a good shake in a colander to rough up the edges
•   Leave them to dry – for up to an hour, the drier the better.
•   Heat the oil or fat in a roasting tin for five minutes
•   Carefully introduce the potatoes to the hot  oil and turn them gently until they’re evenly coated  
•   Roast for 35 - 45 minutes, turning them every so often to get them crispy and golden
•   Serve up with a roast dinner and enjoy

For more recipes from Branston, log onto www.branston.com.

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