Roast potatoes

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2.Peel potatoes and cut into biggish, even-sized pieces – too small and you end up with nothing but crispy crust.

3.Place potatoes in a large pot of cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes then drain.

4.Return the pot of potatoes to the heat for a minute or so to dry out, shaking the pot to roughen up the sides of the potatoes (this results in a crispier finish). Sprinkle lightly with salt.

5.Add the oil and butter, or duck fat, to a large shallow roasting pan and place in the oven to heat up. When fat is hot, carefully tip in the potatoes and coat them in the fat. Bake for about 50 minutes, turning spuds occasionally until crisp and golden. (If you are cooking a joint of meat at the same time, the oven temperature is likely to be lower, which is fine. When the meat is cooked, remove it from the oven to rest, then crank the temperature up high and give the spuds a blast for 15 or so minutes. The gentle cooking will have made the potatoes tender on the inside and the hot finish will crisp them up.)