A few people have asked how I cut/cook my roasted potatoes, so I thought I’d put together a little tutorial. It’s really easy, but for some reason I felt the need to take a gazillion photos. Don’t let the length of this post scare you. ( I apologize in advance for the low quality photos – I don’t have great lighting in my kitchen).
I had never in my life tasted roasted potatoes until I met my husband. Or, rather, my husband’s mother. I learned this ‘hedgehog’ method from her, and I’ve never gone back. So if you like these potatoes, you have my mum-in-law to thank!
First, peel your potatoes:
Next, cut them into fairly uniformly sized pieces, not too small. Tiny potatoes can just be cut in half:
I like to cut one end off of very large potatoes:
Then in half lengthwise:
Then into pieces:
Do the same with the rest of the potatoes. As you can see, you don’t have to be too worried about them being the exact same size, just close:
Now, the fun part! Take a knife and cut several slits into your potatoes, cutting most of the way through, being careful not to cut all the way. Do this down the length of the potato. I find this easiest with a smaller knife:
Continue until you’ve ‘hedgehogged’ all of your potatoes:
If you’re an ‘advanced prep’ sort of person (as I am) you can put the potatoes in a bowl at this point and cover them completely with water. They can be left at room temp for a couple of hours, or put the bowl in the fridge if they won’t be used for a few hours or until the next day (or you can skip this step and roast them immediately, of course!).
When you’re ready to roast your potatoes, preheat your oven to 400?. Pat the potatoes with some kitchen towel if they’ve been in water, just so they’re not soaking wet (a little wet is fine). Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with oil, and plop on your potatoes, slit-side up. Spray with some more oil until fairly well coated (my mum-in-law brushes oil on with a pastry brush, and I did too, until I figured out that I was using way more oil than necessary. You can brush it on if you’d like, but spraying is a bit healthier and the results are just as good):
Pop the pan in your 400? oven, and after about an hour you’ll have a lovely pan of hedgehog potatoes:
A closer shot with the yummy crispy brown bottoms:
See? Easy!
