You will hear and read a lot about roasting potatoes in this fat, that pan, at that temperature and for so long but, truth be told, the fate of your roasties is decided long before you even get near the oven. It’s all about the spud.

Potatoes fall into two broad camps. Waxy types and floury types. Waxy potatoes will hold on to their shape for grim life, no matter how long you cook them, which is why they make great additions to soups, curries, tagines and stews etc. Floury types will start to fall and go fluffy when cooked. You need this fluffiness in a roastie. So when shopping, look for varieties like Maris Piper, King Edward or Marfona.

Now you have the right spud, follow these four easy steps to crispy edged roasties. 1. Pre-boil the potatoes. Cut them into pieces roughly the size of an egg. Little cubes of potato will cook through too quickly, and like love, you can’t hurry a good roastie. You want to bring the potatoes to a boil in plenty of salted water until you start to see fluffing round the edges (after about five to ten minutes normally).
2. Drain the potatoes thoroughly. Some people recommend knocking them round the colander. I don’t. Just leave them there for a good five
3. Pre-heat the roasting tray and the fat. Meat eaters should use duck fat, lard or dripping. For veggies, I recommend groundnut oil (from good oriental supermarkets) or rapeseed oil, which has a wonderful flavour. Olive oil doesn’t work well since it can’t take high temps. Heat the oil up in the roasting tray, in the oven, set to around 220c / Gas Mk 6.
4.Add the potatoes to the hot oil, and shake them round the tray gently so that they get fully coated with the hot fat. Now season them and roast, turning once if you like, for about thirty minutes. The fluffy edges should be crispy. I’m hungry now.

Parboil the peeled spuds until you can poke them with a knife. Meanwhile, douse a baking dish with good quality olive oil and bung in the oven until smoking. Strain the water, scrape each piece with a fork and dust with flour, salt and pepper. (Semolina flour will add a sweetness; or you can add chopped rosemary for extra flavour.) Put the potatoes in the baking dish and pop in the oven, turning from time to time until the potatoes are brown and crispy.