Roasting

Root vegetables especially are delicious roasted. Here is my favourite method of cooking roast potatoes.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into large even-sized pieces. Place in cold, salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for at least 10 minutes and drain well. You then need to roughen the outsides, either by shaking the potatoes in the covered pan to rub the corners off and soften them or by running a fork over them.

Heat some lard or dripping in a roasting tin in the oven at gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C). Add the potatoes, season well with salt and pepper, turn over in the fat to ensure that they are well coated, and cook, turning frequently, for about 45 minutes until crispy and golden brown. If roasting a joint at the same time, this should ideally be placed directly on to the wire shelf above the poatoes so that the meat juices can drip over the potatoes.