Spicy Roast Potatoes
GLUTEN-FREE II SOY FREE II NUT FREE II VEGAN II DAIRY FREE II SESAME FREE II TOP 14 FREE
These spicy roast potatoes are an excellent twist on the usual roast potatoes. Serve them alongside your roast dinner or as a side to any meal you fancy.
These spicy potatoes are great if you love chilli, but you can omit that if you prefer. Different spices can be used to make these spiced roast potatoes; see the tips for other options.
My roast dinners are famous because I love to cook recipes with my own twist, using many spices and bold flavours. I hope that you love this recipe as much as I do.
Notes on ingredients
Potatoes
For roast potatoes, you need a floury potato the floury edges are the bits that go crispy. My recommendation for the best potatoes to use would be Maris Piper. It’s the indisputable king that would be my first option. You can also use King Edward or Desiree.
Spices
Chinese five-spice powder may have originally been used medicinally to balance yin and yang. Five is considered to be a number associated with healing properties. It has been integrated into Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine and it is also used in Vietnamese cuisine and in other parts of Asia. For cooking, the theory is that five-spice encompasses a balance of the main flavours, with interesting interplays between cool (yin) and warm (yang). Chinese 5 spice is underutilised, but it’s one of my favourites. It adds warmth and complexity to dishes. It has such a unique taste and is great to enliven any bland dish.
A typical recipe for five-spice powder calls for Szechuan (Sichuan) peppercorns, ground cloves, fennel, cinnamon, and star anise. The five-spic powder can also include anise seeds, ginger root, nutmeg, turmeric, cardamom, amomum villosum pods (similar to cardamom), liquorice, orange peel, or galangal.
NB if you have allergies please always check ingredients on the spices as the cheaper brands may contain ‘ natural ingredients’ which will include a slew of not so natural ingredients some of which may contain gluten, soy or yeast.
Feeds 2 - 1 hr cooking/prep time
Ingredients
Tips on the perfect roast potatoes
There is arguably 100 different ways of making crispy roast potatoes, some chefs use semolina to coat their potatoes before roasting, some use goose fat.Take a look at these great tips to make the best roast potatoes that your family will love.
Choose the right potato; some are floury, waxy, and wet, but the perfect potatoes for the best roast potatoes need to be floury. Try using potatoes like russets, maris pipers, king Edward
First of all, don’t skimp on fat. I love using goose fat or duck fat. Or ghee as the butter is clarified, it’s less likely to burn, and it gives the finished roasties a wonderfully rounded, brown-butter flavour. If you are vegan then use olive oil.
Small pieces will cook more quickly but have a thinner, crispy exterior. Medium chunks have more time to develop a thicker crust and contrasting interior.
Parboiling the potatoes until they are tender on the outside but still firm in the middle causes gelatinization on the surface, resulting in fluffy potatoes. The tiny cracks on the outside allow the hot oil to penetrate, leading to a crispier texture.
Rough up your spud, After par-boiling the potatoes, drain them well and put them back in the pan. Then, put the lid on and shake the pan vigorously to roughen up the edges. This will allow the potatoes to develop light, crisp edges that almost look like frills when they've been sizzling in the hot oil, making for the perfect crispy roast potato.
For extra crunch, ensure the fat is hot when adding the potatoes to the pan. Preheat the fat in the oven before adding the potatoes, and coat them well before putting them in the oven.
Use different spices, try Fajita spice, cumin and garam masala, Cajun seasoning, dried harissa, rasel el hanout, and jamacian jerk seasoning are all great options.
Step by step
Recipe
2 large potatoes ( maris piper or king edward)
1 green chilli
2 cloves garlic
20g fresh ginger
3/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
50 ml olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Peel the potatoes and cut into 4, then place into a saucepan with plenty of water and boil for 15 minutes
Once the potatoes are parboiled drain them into a colander and shake them so the edges become jagged and uneven, this is where the edges will turn beautiful and crispy.
Once the potatoes are drained put them onto the baking tray.
Blend the rest of the ingredients and then add to the potatoes, finish with some salt and pepper and cook in the oven in the middle shelf for 45 minutes. I finished my potatoes with some chopped coriander.
Variations
Try using sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, keep the skin on the sweet potatoes as it adds a great texture and cut them into wedges. You could literally add any spice to roast potatoes like garam masala, cumin, fajita seasoning. Go nuts and experiment and let me know how you get on by dropping me a comment.
If your find cooking for your allergies and intolerances challenging. I also teach cookery classes and can do this in person or via zoom. Contact me here for a tailor-made class to suit your requirements.
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