Roasted Potatoes

Last night I made Maggie Beer's roast chook (which appeared on Masterchef) and I served it with a side of roast potatoes.  The roast chicken turned out very succulent however there wasn't enough flavour as the only ingredients other than the chicken were garlic, rosemary, verjuice, lemon, oil, salt and pepper (see photo).

Roasted potatoes - such an easy side to make but so often the potatoes are dry, not crispy or undercooked.  This recipe will tell you how to make the perfect roast potatoes that are moist, crispy, easy and work every time.
Note - if boiling root vegetables always place them in cold water rather than boiling water.  This results in the vegetables cooking through rather than being over cooked on the outside and raw inside.
I got the idea of mixing the potatoes before roasting them from Clotilde Dusoulier's blog 'Chocolate and Zucchini'.

Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
 - 4 medium sized potatoes (this recipe works with any type of potatoes)
 - 5 blanched non-peeled garlic cloves
- 3-4 sprigs of rosemary
 - 2-3 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- sea salt

Method
1.  Preheat oven to 210°C
2.  Peel potatoes and cut them into medium sized chunks (approx. 16 pieces per potato)
3.  Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water and place on high heat (with the lid on)
4.  Once the water begins to boil, take the heat down to medium and let the potatoes cook for 5 minutes. Drain.
5.  Place the potatoes back in the pot with the lid on and shake them.  This sounds a bit silly but it actually roughens up the sides of the potatoes allowing a larger surface area for a crispier outer layer.
5.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.  Spread out the potatoes.  Add garlic, rosemary and sea salt.  Drizzle with good quality EVOO and toss lightly to ensure all the potatoes are evenly covered in the oil.
6.  Place in middle shelf of oven for 15 minutes. (Toss the potatoes once half way through)
7.  Change the oven to grill and place the potatoes under the grill for another 5-10minutes or until they are golden brown, crispy on the outside and soft in the inside.