Potatoes

(All Recipes have Gluten-Free Options)

Italian-Style Small Roasted Potatoes (Serves 4)

This is another recipe from the cookbook ‘Brutto’. A classic recipe for Italian-style roasted potatoes; they are cut much smaller than our traditional UK roast potatoes, thus are slightly crunchier. You can use either floury potatoes or new potatoes for a smoother, nuttier flavour – those in the photo above are made with floury potatoes.

500g floury potatoes (Maris Piper, King Edward etc) or new potatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Sunflower oil

4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

Flaky sea salt

A large handful rosemary leaves

1. Peel and cut the potatoes into small triangular pieces (if using new potatoes, don’t peel them, simply cut into pieces).
2. Add the potatoes to a pan of salted, boiling water and cook for 5-6 minutes until they are still firm but can be pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Drain.
3. Pour a few glugs of each oil into a large roasting tin and place in a preheated oven, 190’c fan, for 3-4 minutes. Place the flat of a blade of a knife on each of the unpeeled garlic cloves and hit firmly with your palm to smash them. Add the drained potatoes, the smashed garlic cloves, a good pinch of salt and half the rosemary to the hot oil, shaking the tin to coat the potatoes. Return to the oven.
4. After 30 minutes remove the shake again or turn the potatoes with tongs. Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, then once again turn them and this time add the remaining rosemary (if using new potatoes you can slightly squash some of them with a spatula). Continue to roast for a further 10-15 minutes – maybe a little more or less – until golden and crisp.
5. Serve in a large bowl sprinkled with flaky sea salt.

Creamy Colcannon Potatoes (Serves 4)

This great recipe for Colcannon is a classic from Delia Smith’s Winter Cookbook…

700g potatoes (such as Desiree or King Edward), peeled and cut into chunks

225g firm green cabbage, very finely sliced

12 spring onions, trimmed and very finely sliced including the green parts

75ml single cream

75g butter

Freshly grated nutmeg, sea salt and black pepper

1. Steam the potatoes with a little salt until completely cooked through. Drain and cover with a clean tea-cloth whilst you prepare the cabbage.
2. Melt 25g of the butter in a large frying pan and sauté the cabbage for about 3 minutes, keeping it on the move until it’s tender and slightly golden at the edges. Then add the spring onions and continue to cook for another minute.
3. Add a grating of fresh nutmeg, the cream and remaining butter to the potatoes and use an electric hand whisk until light and fluffy, seasoning with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the cabbage and spring onions. Serve with or without extra melted butter.

Herb & Lemon Roasted Potatoes (Serves 4-6)

It’s always good to have a new potato recipe ‘up your sleeve’, and this one is one I’ve been cooking a lot lately!.. The crispy potatoes are wonderful with the herbs whilst the lemon becomes deliciously chewy with cooking.

1.2kg potatoes

8 tablespoons olive oil

A pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped finely

1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped finely

4 slices lemon

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into 3cm cubes. Tip into a bowl and add the oil, chilli flakes, garlic, rosemary, sage, lemon slices, half the oregano and some salt then mix well.
2. Tip onto a baking tray and spread out evenly. Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 30-40 minutes, turning the potatoes at least three times. Add the remaining oregano in the last 5 minutes.
3. Serve when crisp and golden, and piping hot.

New Potatoes with Minty Herb Butter (Serves 4)

500g new potatoes

25g butter, softened

½ tablespoon chopped mint, plus a few whole leaves

½ tablespoon chopped parsley

½ tablespoon chopped chives

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Halve any large potatoes and place in a large saucepan. Cover with boiling water, add a pinch of salt and a couple of mint leaves and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until tender.
2. Meanwhile, combine the butter and chopped herbs.
3. Drain the potatoes and return to the pan and add the herb butter, toss the potatoes so they are well coated. Season with salt and pepper.

New Potatoes with Lemon & Samphire (Serves 4-6)

It’s always good to have different recipe ideas for potatoes and this one is a new favourite of mine. These potatoes are fabulous with fish, the subtle saltiness of the samphire complements its delicate flavour. I discovered the recipe in Skye McAlpine’s cookbook ‘A Table for Friends’, it’s such a simple idea to combine samphire and lemon with new potatoes but so effective and wonderfully simple. The potatoes can be served warm or at room temperature, but make sure you dress them with the olive oil and lemon whilst they are still piping hot, so that the citrusy flavours are infused with the heat.

1 kg baby new potatoes

5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon sliced into very thin rounds

90g samphire

Large bunch of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Sea salt flakes

1. Steam the potatoes until cooked through.
2. Drizzle the hot, cooked potatoes generously with the olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt (not too much as the samphire will be salty). Toss well then add the lemon slices and toss again.
3. Meanwhile steam the samphire for 4-6 minutes until al dente, then add to the potatoes and stir gently to combine.
4. When the potatoes have cooled a little add the chopped parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Crushed Potatoes with Coriander & Lime (Serves 4)

These are particularly good with fish dishes or roast chicken.

400g new potatoes

Zest and juice of 1 lime

1 small handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Boil the potatoes for 8-10 minutes until just done. Drain and crush lightly with a fork.
2. Season with salt and pepper, then add the lime juice, the zest and the coriander, gently mix. Drizzle with a little olive oil and serve.

Sauté Potatoes with Garlic & Rosemary (Serves 4)

This is a wonderful recipe for potatoes, it does need a little attention at the stove, but it is well worth it!…

500g potatoes (such as Maris Piper), peeled

8 large cloves garlic, unpeeled

8 tablespoons olive oil

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Cut the potatoes into 1.5cm cubes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and when hot add the potato cubes. Spread them out well over the pan, but do not stir fry – allow them to form a golden crust before turning them over.
3. When you turn them over add the garlic cloves. Fry together to brown on all sides.
4. Just before the end of cooking add the rosemary, salt and pepper.

Roast New Potatoes with Bay Leaves (Serves 4-6)

You can never have enough recipes for potatoes!…so it was with great joy that I discovered this new, simple way of cooking new potatoes in Skye McAlpine’s cookbook, ‘A Table For Friends’. The bay leaves subtly flavour the little roasted potatoes, plus they look rather impressive tucked into each one! Skye says that you can eat the bay leaves, I did try them, but I must admit I wasn’t sold on that idea – but do try them yourself!

20 small new potatoes

20 bay leaves

4-5 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Make a lengthways slit across each potato and tuck a bay leaf into the slit. Arrange them in a roasting tin, allowing space between them, drizzle with the oil and season generously.
2. Place in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for about 1 hour or until they are golden brown and easily pierced.

Aligot (Serves 4)

Aligot is a traditional recipe of puréed potatoes with cheese from the South of France. Traditionally it is made with Tomme de Savoie, but this is very difficult to find in the UK, so in this recipe it is substituted with Emmental. Although not completely authentic it is absolutely delicious! You will often find Aligot served in good French bistrots with a simple steak and green salad, try it with my Peppercorn Steak (recipe here), it is equally good with a pork chop or sausages – a French take on ‘bangers and mash’! Aligot does require a bit of ‘elbow grease’ – the grating of cheese (my pet hate!) and beating it into the mash – but the end result makes it all worth it!

1 kg potatoes (such as Maris Piper)

400g Emmental cheese, grated

50g butter

100ml milk

1 garlic clove, crushed

150g Créme Fraîche

Whole nutmeg to be grated

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into even-sized chunks. Steam until completely cooked through.
2. Heat the milk with the butter and garlic.
3. Mash the potatoes with the milk and melted butter mixture.
4. Return the pan with the mashed potatoes to the hob and over a low heat quickly mix in the cheese and cremé fraîche – this requires a bit of elbow grease, but as the cheese melts you will notice that the potato becomes wonderfully smooth.
5. Finally season with a grating of nutmeg and salt and pepper.

Purée of Potato & Celeriac with Garlic (Serves 4)

The combination of flavours in this purée are perfect to accompany dishes such as stews and casseroles, particularly those made with game like Venison Casserole with Maderia (recipe here).

500g celeriac

225g potatoes (such as Maris Piper)

2 cloves garlic, peeled

25g butter

75ml double cream

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel the celeriac and cut into 2cm cubes. Peel the potatoes and cut into slightly larger cubes.
2. Put the celeriac and potatoes into separate pans, each with a clove of garlic. Cover with boiling water, add some salt and simmer for about 10 minutes, until they are tender.
3. Drain, place them together in a bowl, add the butter and cream and use a hand held electric whisk to purée them.

Dauphinoise Potatoes with Gruyére Cheese (Serves 4 -6)

This is one of two recipes that I have posted for Dauphinoise Potatoes; the other recipe (below) is slightly simpler to make and not quite as rich (that’s if Dauphinoise Potatoes can be ‘less rich’!). This Dauphinoise Potato recipe is richer and more unctuous, it goes very well with the recipe, ‘Provençal Rack of Lamb with Crushed Peas’. I think you should try both recipes as there is a time and a place for either, depending on your mood!

I found this recipe in ‘At Home in the Provence’ by Patricia Wells, who in turn took if from renowned French chef, Joël Roubuchon – so it comes well endorsed!

500ml whole milk

250ml double cream

125g grated Gruyere cheese

1 kg firm fleshed potatoes (such as Charlotte), peeled and sliced very thinly

1 plump clove garlic, peeled and halved

45g unsalted butter, diced

Freshly grated nutmeg

Sea salt and black pepper

1. In a large saucepan bring the milk to boiling point. Add the cream and three-quarters of the cheese. Stir to blend and melt the cheese. Season which salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg. Add the potatoes and mix well with a wooden spoon. Cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
2. Rub a baking dish with the garlic. Transfer the potatoes and their liquid to the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the butter.
3. Place in a preheated oven, 190’c fan, for about 1¼ hours.
4. Serve immediately.

Simple Dauphinoise Potatoes (Serves 4)

The French seem to be split over the recipe for Dauphinoise Potatoes, some call for the addition of Gruyére cheese, whilst others, lament its addition!…I like it both ways, I think there is a time and a place for both versions; the version without cheese is great for a more relaxed meal, whilst with cheese, being more unctuous, it is more suited to a rich dinner party meal – I particularly like it with a roast rack of lamb. This version is the one without cheese, the ‘simple’ version, which is perfect for a midweek treat, my version with cheese is posted above…!

15g butter

1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper

400ml double cream

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Rub a gratin dish liberally with the butter.
2. Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly.
3. In a large bowl whisk together the cream, garlic, nutmeg and season well with salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes in this cream mixture.
4. Layer the potatoes in the gratin dish, spreading them flat and evenly, pour over any remaining cream.
5. Place in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 1 – 1 hour 15 minutes. Every 15 minutes or so press the down the potatoes with a spatula to stop them drying out. The gratin is ready when the top is golden and bubbling, and the potatoes are tender. You may want to turn up the oven to 190 -200’c for the last 5 minutes of cooking to achieve an extra golden crisp.

‘Favourite’ Mashed Potato (Serves 4)

There are numerous recipes for mashed potato, and yes, I have tried many, but this one is probably my favourite. It actually doesn’t contain any butter, which makes me feel that it could be healthy, although admittedly it does contain double cream! Don’t be put off by the garlic, you really can’t taste it, it just enhances the flavour of the potato. I must admit I ‘cheat’ when it comes to mashing, I am fortunate to have an amazing kitchen appliance, a Thermomix, this is a serious piece of kitchen kit; I can actually steam my potatoes in it and then mash them in seconds. If you don’t have a Thermomix you can either mash by hand, however,  for an easier option I would recommend doing as Delia Smith suggests in her ‘Winter Cookbook’ – whisk them with an electric hand whisk. When whisking them you do have to be careful – make sure that the potatoes are absolutely cooked, otherwise they will go gluey. Start off with the speed slow to break up the potatoes and then increase to a high speed to quickly whip them until smooth – don’t do it for too long, as again, they will go gluey, which is not good!

1kg potatoes (floury, such as Maris Piper)

100ml full-fat milk

100ml double cream

2 cloves garlic, sliced

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized chunks. Steam until completely cooked through.
2. Put the milk, cream and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat.
3. Mash the potatoes (see note above) adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Season well with salt and pepper.

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potato (Serves 4)

In this recipe, I have simply added an extra garlic clove to my ‘Favourite’ Mashed Potato recipe to enhance the flavour of the garlic.

1kg potatoes (floury, such as Maris Piper)

100ml full-fat milk

100ml double cream

3 garlic cloves, sliced

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized chunks. Steam until completely cooked through.
2. Put the milk, cream and garlic in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat.
3. Mash the potatoes, adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Season well with salt and pepper.

Perfect Jacket Potatoes (Serves 4)

I find that by lightly oiling the potatoes with olive oil before baking them, really helps crisp up the skins.

4 large baking potatoes

Olive oil

Sea salt

Butter to serve

1. Prick the skins of the potatoes lightly with a fork. Using a piece of kitchen roll lightly wipe them over with some olive oil and them sprinkle with salt.
2. Place directly on the shelf of a preheated oven, 200’c fan, and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the skins are crisp and the potato inside is deliciously fluffy!
3. Serve with a knob of butter.

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Everybody has their favourite roast potato recipe. I must admit that having tried various recipes, I have always returned to the one I found years ago in Delia Smith’s ‘Winter Collection Cookbook’ – you can’t beat it in my opinion. I use either olive oil or goose fat (I buy it in jars), depending on my mood. The olive oil gives a lighter, cleaner taste, whereas the goose fat has a richer flavour – both crisp up the potatoes equally well.

1.8kg Maris Piper or other floury, roasting potatoes

110g olive oil or goose fat (see note above)

Sea salt

1. Place the fat in the roasting tin and place in the oven, 190’c fan, on the highest shelf so that the oil preheats whilst you prepare the potatoes.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut into evenly sized pieces.
3. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water and add the salt. Simmer for 10 minutes until the outer edge of the potatoes is fluffy – test with the points of a fork.
4. Drain the potatoes well and return to the saucepan. Place a lid over the pan and shake it vigorously. By shaking the potatoes in the saucepan in this way the cooked edges will become floury and fluffy – perfect for crisping up in the oven.
5. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and place the potatoes in the hot fat – careful as the oil may spit! Baste them well and return to the oven for about 40 minutes until they are golden brown and crisped.
6. Sprinkle with salt and serve straightaway – do not allow them to sit around otherwise they will loose their crunch (if they are cooked before you are ready, turn off the oven and leave them inside – but with caution, they don’t like to wait!)

Concetta’s Potatoes (Serves 4)

I have named these after our Italian friend (and chef), Concetta, who gave me the recipe many years ago; they are simply sliced baked potatoes with garlic, rosemary and sage.

4 large potatoes – such as Maris Piper (roasting potatoes)

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon dried sage

Sea salt and black pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Olive oil

1. Peel and slice the potatoes, and parboil in boiling water for 4 minutes.
2. Place in a roasting tin, sprinkle over the rosemary, sage and garlic, season with salt and black pepper and drizzle over some olive oil – mix well.
3. Place in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 35-40mins until crispy and well browned.

Baked Lemon Potatoes (Serves 4)

1 kg new potatoes (waxy potatoes)

3 tablespooons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

125ml fish or chicken stock

60ml lemon juice

100g pitted black olives, sliced (optional)

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

1. For the lemon potatoes, cut the unpeeled potatoes into thick slices and place in a roasting tin. Add the olive oil, garlic, stock, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
2. Bake in a preheated oven, 200’c fan, for 50 minutes stirring every 10 minutes, 5 minutes before the end of cooking add the olives and the parsley to the potatoes. 

Homemade Oven Chips (Serves 4)

I always serve these when we have steak; they are easy to prepare, proving that there is no need for a stinking chip pan in order to have good chips! It is important to use baking potatoes for this recipe as they crisp up better.

3-4 baking potatoes, depending on the size and how hungry you are

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven 200’c fan.
2. Cut the potatoes into thick chips, there is no need to peel them.
3. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the chips, boil for 4 minutes then drain well.
4. Coat the chips with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and lay them out in single layer on a baking tray.
5. Place in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, turning a few times during cooking.
6. Serve immediately.

Baby Roast Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary (serves 4-6)

900g unpeeled new potatoes washed and cut roughly into 1cm cubes

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, leaves chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons of olive oil

sea salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven 200’c fan. Put the olive oil in a roasting tin and place in the oven to heat up.
2. Place the potatoes in a clean tea towel and dry them thoroughly.
3. Remove tin from the oven and carefully slide the potatoes into the hot fat. Sprinkle over the garlic and rosemary then stir around.
4. Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper before serving.