It’s been a fun vacation so far in the US, but it’s almost time for me to turn my attention back home to London. This feels especially true because as I write this it’s snowing outside and I’m unprepared for this weather. It’s freaking March, and it’s snowing. I’m not kidding, the weather is better in London right now. Get yourself together DC.

Anyway, on a cold day like this it’s always nice to have something warm and comforting… like roasted potatoes. These potatoes are a classic English style of potatoes and what you get when you have Sunday roasts. Specifically, this recipe is from my friend Sarah’s mom, who we’ll call Mrs. P. Sarah’s dad calls her mom Mrs. P, and I thought it was the cutest thing so I’m going to roll with it.

Anyway, I had Mrs. P’s potatoes when I had an amazingly beautiful mini-vacation in Dorset. The Sunday I was there, Sarah’s whole family gathered together for a big delicious roast lunch. Everything was really tasty and nothing is more comforting and satisfying than a warm lunch with family. It was wonderful to be included. And even though the meat, dessert and vegetables were all amazing – I was most intrigued with the potatoes.

What makes these potatoes awesome is they have a crunchy outer skin and a creamy buttery soft inside. It’s fantastic. Every time I’ve ever made roasted potatoes before, they just came out soft all over. What was the secret to the crunchy/soft combo?! So I asked Sarah to ask her mom – and I was worried it’d be a family recipe that couldn’t be shared. But luckily Mrs. P shared, and said I could share the recipe with all of you. So here it is, your opportunity to escape where you are and have a little taste of England.

One final note: the type of potatoes is important. Mrs. P calls for Maris Piper potatoes, and when I did some comparative research on similar recipes, everyone else called for the same kind too. So, stick with tradition if you can and try to buy Maris Piper potatoes. However, this is an Irish breed of potatoes and can be hard to find outside the UK. So, if you’re in the US and can’t find Maris Piper, my research says use Yukon Gold and then if you can’t find that try Russets.

Messy level: I find peeling potatoes fairly messy. I always think it shouldn’t be, but I end up with a big mound of peelings that take over my cutting board and fall on the floor. What’s most important to know though, is that this recipe has two cooking steps. First on the stove, then in the oven – and that’s where the dishes come in. Process wise it’s easy, but you’ll have a medium amount of dishes in the end.

Goose Fat Roasted Potatoes

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

1 hour 40 mins

Total time

1 hour 55 mins

 

Author: Mrs. P

Ingredients

• 1.5kg/ 3.3 lbs Maris Piper potatoes
• 150g/ 5oz/slightly more than ½ cup goose fat
• salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel the Maris Piper potatoes and cut them in half, or in quarters if especially large. Most importantly, you want the potato pieces to be about the same size so they will cook evenly.
2. Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.
3. Bring the water to a boil and boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes. (This is called parboiling and is done just to cook and soften them a little, not cook them all the way through.) You can season the water with salt if you like.
4. Preheat the oven to 390°F/200°C. Put the goose fat into your roasting pan, and put in the pan in the oven. You want the fat to be super hot for when you add in the potatoes.
5. Drain the potatoes. Put the lid back on your pot and swirl it around. This is to roughen up the edges of the potatoes - this is what leads to the crispy skin. I felt my potatoes were "roughed up" enough when they looked a little shredded and frizzy on the edges. (Note: if you've over boiled the potatoes, you'll end up with mash potatoes at this point)
6. Carefully remove the roasting pan from the oven, and carefully add the potatoes. If you can, try to turn the potatoes around a little bit so they get all coated in the fat. Return to the oven.
7. Cook the potatoes for 1-1½ hours. Turn the potatoes a few times during cooking (I went with turning them every 20 minutes) They are done when you can easily stick a fork into the potato.
8. Remove from the oven. If you feel they are too coated in duck fat, you can pat them dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt if you like. I didn't because I think this recipe is good as-is.
9. Serve immediately! I found these are best the day off. They are still good reheated, but the crispy skin is best when fresh.

3.2.2925

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You know the stereotype that Brits have bad food? I’m going to take a bold stance and say that it’s totally wrong. The Brits have yummy food and I’ve had plenty of it since moving here. I’ll concede that a lot of dishes are hearty and meat based, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, (yes cup of tea reference on purpose), but fish and chips, mash, Victoria sandwich, coronation chicken, and steak and ale pie are all delicious. But my favorite thing ever might be Sunday roast.

On Saturday, Ryan and I went to a Halloween party and we may have stayed out really late and had too much fun. So the next day we woke up groggy and I was grumpy. Ryan suggested we go to the pub for a Sunday roast and I immediately perked up. It is the perfect meal for a rainy lazy Sunday.

We went to the Horatia, which is our local pub. The kitchen is run by Borough Foods Kitchen, which means all the ingredients are sourced from traders at Borough Market. Which, by the by, is an awesome market with all kinds of great food and I should totally write a TT post about that. Anyway, Borough Market has the best ingredients and as a result the Horatia’s food is always really good.

The Horatia is a quirky place. It’s decorated with lots of taxidermy animals, which at first feels weird but eventually seems a little charming. It has mismatched furniture, grandfather clocks, and chalkboards listing all their craft beers. It’s kind of giant as pubs go, and I think they have swing dancing lessons one day a week.

Ryan and I first went for Sunday roast after a number of British people told us it was a must-do for our time here. The meal is like comfort food, it’s filling, and familiar, and indulgent all at the same time. The basics of the dish is a roast meat, with fixings, and gravy. In addition to the food itself, I like the atmosphere of the pub. On Sundays, the pub feels extra happy. There are families, groups of friends, couples, kids, and even dogs. It’s so nice, and different from how I’ve experienced bars in the US.

But let’s get to the important stuff and talk about the food. At the Horatia, the meat options are beef, chicken, pork, and lamb. One of us always gets the beef. It’s so tender and flavorful. The following is meant as a compliment, although I know it may not sound like it, but you know when you go to a buffet and there is a carving station? That is always my favorite bit, but the person who does the carving always gives out a tiny portion. I always have to ask for more, and it still isn’t as much as I want. At the Horatia, the portion is the giant slice of roast beef I always wished for in the buffet line.

The last time Ryan got “the works” which was a slice of pork, beef, chicken, and lamb. That was a nice option because then no one had to make a sacrifice on choices. Along with the meat, it comes with the fixings. This one specifically has crunchy parsnips on top, parsnip mash and roasted carrots. It also has mushy peas, which have mint in them.I try them every time, but I never really like them. There’s Yorkshire pudding, which is that roll looking thing. It’s called pudding, but isn’t sweet or dessert like. On the side potatoes roasted in goose fat and braised cabbage. I’m often anti-greens but I really liked this cabbage. And on top of that, lots and lots of gravy. Quite the feast right?

Oh yeah, and of course, don’t forget to have it with a pint.

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