Skip to main content

Roast potatoes from Lucca

I cooked this recipe from The River Cafe Classic Cookbook at the Pricey's house when we were in LA seeing Joe earlier this year.

We had it with some amazing Fiorentina steaks ... and a few flagons of delicious red wine!

It takes a bit of trial and error to get it right ... the key thing is to get the depth of potatoes in the pan thin enough to really brown nicely but thick enough that they don't burn to a crisp and still have a bit of fluffiness to them.

When you do get it right though you will find that everybody both young and old will love this recipe and hoover up every last morsel of it.


ingredients

1.5kg waxy potatoes
1 medium red onion peeled
6 garlic clove, peeled and kept whole
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs fresh sage
120ml dry white wine
100ml ex virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed

method

Pre heat oven to 200c

peel potatoes and slice into very fine slices (5mm) use a mandoline if you can.
Put them in cold water to wash off excess starch, drain and pat dry and then put in a large mixing bowl.

finely slice the red onion and, keeping the garlic cloves whole just press them to partly crush them. Wash the herbs and pull the leaves from the woody stems.. Add the onion, garlic and herbs to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss well to make sure the potatoes and herbs are coated with the oil and wine.

choose a baking tray that will fit all the potatoes in spread in not too thick a layer (but not too thin or they will burn at the edges). Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 mins.

Remove the foil , then, using the back of a large spoon or a potato masher, breakup the potatoes and herbs to make a rough mash. Drizzle with olive oil.

Return the tray to the hot oven and roast for a further 30-45 mins, until the potatoes are brown and crisp and still light and fluffy underneath.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crack potatoes courtesy of Ottolenghi. Harissa and confit garlic roast potatoes

Another recipe from Ottolenghi's Simple, another recommendation from Will Saunders.   I know its the middle of summer but who doesn't love a roastie? These little tinkers are so good that they are like crack, class A calories. The clever bit is the addition of semolina and caraway seeds which adds a new level of crunchiness to add to the delicious warm heat of Harissa. Heres the recipe These make a lovely, spicy change from the traditional Sunday roasties. They’re especially good with spiced roast meat. Serves six to eight. 2 large heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled 130g goose or duck fat 4 sprigs fresh rosemary  6 sprigs fresh thyme  2kg maris piper potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks 40g ground semolina 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and lightly crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa Flaky sea salt Heat the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the garlic, fat and herbs in a small ovenproof pan or saucepan for which you have a lid. Cover and roast f...
1 comment
Read more

Nigel Slaters deceptively brilliant monkfish

Lisa discovered this recipe in her favourite Nigel book. It is one of those fish, 'but not as we know it Jim' recipes. Not just because Monkfish is the fish that can best impersonate meat but also because of the marinade ingredients that are more often featured with lamb. It's not difficult to do but the flavour is a revelation, which makes it a perfect recipe in my book. This can be cooked on a grill pan or a barbecue. Ingredients 3 bushy sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped 4 anchovy fillets 2 large cloves garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large lemon, juice only 3 tbsp olive oil 800g/1½lb monkfish fillet Method Pull the leaves from the rosemary stalks and chop them finely, then tip them into a bowl large enough to take the fish. Rinse the anchovy fillets and smash them to a rough pulp with the flat edge of your chopping knife. Peel the garlic, crush it flat, then smash it to a purée in the same way. Stir together the herb, anchovy and garlic, adding a grind...
1 comment
Read more

Sweet potato 'fries' Ottolenghi style

Who doesn’t love sweet potato fries? Many years of going to Vermont have given us a preference to these over your bog standard Maccie D's variety. The addition of a touch of Middle Eastern flavour and the polenta crust make these a real easy crowd pleaser. The oven bake also makes them even healthier. Recipe from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi Ingredients -About 5 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2” thick fries -1 tbs Sweet Smoke Paprika -1/2 tsp cayenne -3 Garlic cloves, crushed -3 tbs Polenta -3 tbs Olive Oil -Flaked Sea Salt -1 tbs Sumac Method Preheat oven to 200c  Mix the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the paprika, cayenne, garlic, polenta, oil and 1 tsp flaked salt.   Once combined, tip the sweet potatoes and all the oil, onto a large parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring gently once or twice, until the potatoes are cooked, crisp and golden brown.   Remove from the ove...
Post a Comment
Read more