Perfect Roast Potatoes

Preparation Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature. I do this as soon as the turkey is out of the oven, which (for me) is very much later than the parboiling stage, but let's start with the oven since you may be cooking in different circumstances, or prefer different procedures. Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into three by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle. Put the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil, letting them cook for 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander and then tip back into the empty saucepan, sprinkling over the semolina. Shake the potatoes around to coat them well and, with the lid clamped on, give the pan a good rotation and the potatoes a proper bashing so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later. Meanwhile, empty the goose fat into a large roasting pan and heat in the oven until seriously hot. (I often parboil the potatoes a few hours in advance, so the "meanwhile" doesn't always hold. And you can start heating up the fat in the oven that the turkey's in, turning it up to really hot once the bird comes out.) Then tip the semolina–coated potatoes carefully into the hot fat and roast in the oven for an hour or until they are darkly golden and crispy, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven's hot enough they probably won't need more than about 25 minutes a side; and it's better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the pan) till the very last minute. Boastfulness and vainglory are not attractive nor would I want to encourage them in you (or myself), but when you've cooked these and see them in all their golden glory on the table, I think you're allowed a quiet moment of silent pride. Reprinted with permission from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, by Nigella Lawson. © 2004 Hyperion

Preparation Preheat the oven to the hottest possible temperature. I do this as soon as the turkey is out of the oven, which (for me) is very much later than the parboiling stage, but let's start with the oven since you may be cooking in different circumstances, or prefer different procedures. Peel the potatoes, and cut each one into three by cutting off each end at a slant so that you are left with a wedge or triangle in the middle. Put the potatoes into salted cold water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil, letting them cook for 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander and then tip back into the empty saucepan, sprinkling over the semolina. Shake the potatoes around to coat them well and, with the lid clamped on, give the pan a good rotation and the potatoes a proper bashing so that their edges disintegrate or fuzz and blur a little: this facilitates the crunch effect later. Meanwhile, empty the goose fat into a large roasting pan and heat in the oven until seriously hot. (I often parboil the potatoes a few hours in advance, so the "meanwhile" doesn't always hold. And you can start heating up the fat in the oven that the turkey's in, turning it up to really hot once the bird comes out.) Then tip the semolina–coated potatoes carefully into the hot fat and roast in the oven for an hour or until they are darkly golden and crispy, turning them over halfway through cooking. If the oven's hot enough they probably won't need more than about 25 minutes a side; and it's better to let them sit in the oven (you can always pour off most of the fat and leave them in the pan) till the very last minute. Boastfulness and vainglory are not attractive nor would I want to encourage them in you (or myself), but when you've cooked these and see them in all their golden glory on the table, I think you're allowed a quiet moment of silent pride. Reprinted with permission from Feast: Food to Celebrate Life, by Nigella Lawson. © 2004 Hyperion