The Best Roasted Potatoes

My mother made the best roasted potatoes I’ve ever tasted.  For years, I’ve been trying to make mine as well as hers, but I usually skipped one of her steps – parboiling.  There’s no getting around it, superior roasted potatoes start with parboiling.  Skip this step and the potatoes tend to stick to the pan, don’t brown as quickly, and don’t take on the same golden, crackly crust.    

Animal fats work best, be it beef, pork, duck, goose or chicken.  Vegetable-based fats don’t impart the same level of flavour as animal fats, and the potatoes don’t crisp up as nicely.

This is more of a method than a recipe, but here goes:

As many baking (Russet) potatoes as you need, peeled and cut into 3 – 4 cm chunks

Animal fat of your choice (about 2 teaspoons per potato)

Spoon the fat into a dark, non-stick pan.  Put pan into cold oven, and turn oven on; preheat to 325 F.

Put potatoes into a pot large enough to accommodate them, and cover with water.  Cover, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and boil for five minutes.  Drain.  Return potatoes to empty pot, put lid on, and bash the potatoes around a bit by shaking the pan (this roughs up their surface a bit, which allows the fat to cling better to the potatoes).

Once the oven is preheated, carefully remove the pan from the oven, and gently put the potatoes into the pan.  Baste the potatoes on all sides with the fat using a pastry brush.  Return the pan to the oven, and bake for 1-1/2 hours, basting every once in a while and turning the potatoes as needed for even browning.

Bubble & Squeak Patties

Bubble and squeak is hugely popular in Britain.  Essentially, it’s cooked greens combined with mashed potatoes, then cooked in a skillet until crusty & brown.  As a crust forms on the bottom, it is scraped up and turned back in to the mixture.  When all is said and done, you pretty much have a potato & vegetable hash with lots of browned bits mixed through.  Yum!

These patties are less time consuming but are just as good.  They can either be done in a skillet or in the oven.  Both work well.

I haven’t given specific measures, as this really isn’t a recipe.  This originated as a leftovers dish, so it was never meant to be precisely measured.  I like about a 60:40 ratio of mashed potato to cooked greens.  Using two large baking potatoes should give you four large patties of bubble & squeak; enough for four people.   

The potatoes absolutely need to be baking potatoes; new potatoes just aren’t starchy enough.  Let the boiled potatoes cool in a colander until they stop steaming.  Mash them well with a small knob of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. 

As for the greens, kale is my preferred way to go, but cabbage, Brussels sprouts, beet greens, spinach, collards or any others you can think of would work. 

Add the well-drained cooked & cooled greens (squeeze them a bit to get rid of any excess water) to the mashed potatoes, stir well with a fork to distribute the greens, and taste for seasoning.

Shape into the desired number of patties (anywhere from slider patty size to regular burger patty size will work).  Either bake on a well-greased cookie sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes per side, or brown in 1 T oil or butter in a skillet over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes per side.  The outsides should be well-browned and crusty.

These are excellent served with any kind of smoked meat, but will pair well with just about anything.

Potato, Cabbage & Bacon Bake

This serves four as a main course, or six as a side dish.

½ lb bacon, cut into lardons

½ head small cabbage (either green or Savoy), halved & sliced

1 medium yellow onion, halved & sliced

Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled & sliced

4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only

100 g cheese of your choice

½ c low-sodium chicken stock

In Dutch oven, brown bacon over medium heat until the fat becomes foamy.  Remove bacon to paper towel to drain.  Discard all but 1 T bacon fat.

In the bacon fat over medium-low heat, cook the cabbage and onion, covered, until its volume has decreased approx 50%.  Season well with salt & pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Butter an 8 X 8 pan well.  Cover the bottom of the pan with the potato slices from one of the potatoes, overlapping slightly as needed.  Season with salt & pepper.  Sprinkle with half the thyme, half the bacon, half the cabbage/onion mixture, and half the cheese.  Repeat.  Pour chicken stock over all.

Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on full power for 5 minutes.  Remove plastic wrap, replace with foil, and bake for one hour.  After an hour, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  Allow to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes before cutting & serving.

Herb & Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

I hate underdone scalloped potatoes.  I don't know if it's just me, but potatoes don't seem to cook as easily as they used to.  Two hours in a 325 degree oven always used to achieve the desired results, but no more, it seems.

To avoid this, I've begun microwaving them prior to popping them into the oven.  The result is meltingly soft, creamy scalloped potatoes, the way I remember them.

3 T butter
3 T flour
2-1/2 c whole milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t salt
1-1/2 t fresh minced rosemary or thyme (or 1/2 t dried)
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 medium onion, finely sliced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small saucepan oven medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring often.  Add the milk, garlic and salt, and increase heat to medium.  Cook, whisking regularly, until mixture comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat; add herb and stir to combine.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a glass 8 X 8 baking pan.  Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom, and top with 1/3 of the onions.  Pour over 1/3 of the prepared sauce, and grind pepper over top.  Repeat layers two more times.

Cover pan with plastic wrap, and pierce once with knife.  Cook in microwave for 15 minutes at 50% power. Carefully remove plastic wrap, and place in oven.  Bake, uncovered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.  All to sit for 10 minutes.  Cut into quarters or sixths and remove from pan with spatula.

Serves 4 - 6

Ham & Potato Bake

2 large baking potatoes, diced

1 medium onion, diced and sautéed in butter

¼ lb mushrooms, sliced and sautéed in butter

Small fully-cooked ham (650 g. +/-), diced

1 c frozen peas

2 T butter

2 T flour

2 c milk

1 t dry mustard

Ground black pepper to taste

1 c shredded old cheddar

Paprika

Put diced potatoes into a large bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and cook in microwave on full power for 10 minutes, stirring well at the half way point.  Once done, add the onion, mushrooms, ham and peas.  Toss well and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter.  Add the flour, and cook slowly for 1-2 minutes, stirring often with whisk.  Add the milk, mustard and black pepper.  Increase heat to medium, and cook, whisking often, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens.

Turn the ham and potato mixture into a greased 9 X 13 pan.  Spoon the white sauce over it, top with cheddar, sprinkle with paprika, and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes until bubbling and beginning to brown.  Allow to sit for at least ten minutes prior to serving.