Cacio e Pepe Roasties

Normal roast potatoes are probably the best kind of potato in the world. They are like chips, but if chips were fried in goose fat.

20 minutes prep

2 hours cook

Serves 4

Hugh Woodward
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Ingredients

  • 1 kgMaris Piper potatoes
  • 1 tbspflaked sea salt
  • 200ggoose or duck fat
  • 75gparmesan
  • 1 tbspfreshly ground black pepper

However, even icons like the classic roastie can be riffed on - welcome to the stage out Cacio e Pepe Roasties. These are simply roasted with the latter addition of cheese and pepper - the cheese forms lacy little cheese skirts around the potatoes, the pepper gives heat.

Method

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut into large, roastie shaped pieces - aim to give the roasties flat sides if possible to enhance crispiness later on.
  • Place them in a large pot of cold water along with the salt and bring to a simmer. Remove them from the pan when the outsides are fluffy but they aren't completely cooked through.
  • While the potatoes are simmering, pour the goose fat into a large sturdy roasting tray and place it back in the oven to heat up.
  • Drain the potatoes in a colander and knock them about a bit of fluff them up even further - fluffiness increases surface area which increases crispiness.
  • Roast them for around an hour, tossing them at intervals.
  • Use the fine grating part of a box grater to grate the cheese over the potatoes and season liberally with the black pepper, then return to the oven to melt the cheese.
  • Serve dusted with more cheese and pepper.

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    Hugh Woodward

    Hugh Woodward

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    Hugh's culinary life began aged 14 when he cooked spaghetti hoop burritos to impress girls. Since then his colourful career has taken him to performing in Skegness, making cheese in Peckham, running a wine bar on Columbia Road and reluctantly working in a (briefly) Michelin Starred restaurant. He likes fish, things cooked on charcoal, cheap dinners and London's rich cultural tapestry of food shops. When he's not cooking or eating he can be found mudlarking by the river Thames, buying bits in flea markets and hanging out with his cat Keith.

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