Can you believe we've hit December again...does it come around quicker every year and take us all by surprise or is that just me? Am I the only one who thinks that they're getting organised by starting to buy presents in November only to realise around 20th December that I've bought twice for some people and totally forgot others!? Please tell me I'm not alone.
Although I may be a disorganised Christmas shopper, the one thing where I do get ahead of myself is preparing some of our Christmas lunch ahead of time ...thanks be to the God of the Deep Freeze for allowing this to happen because as much as I love Christmas, I don't want to spend most of Christmas Day peeling, chopping, roasting and exhausting myself so that I don't enjoy what's been cooked. So as smug as this may sound, I like to get ahead by freezing gravy (Jamie Oliver's recipe is amazing for make-ahead Christmas gravy), braised red cabbage, rosemary and parmesan parsnips, stuffing, bread sauce (great for using up stale bread) and the roast potatoes (which I've found to be game changing...I seem to get a crispier spud by cooking them from frozen - I have no explanation for this but it does seem to work).
As making the roast potatoes ahead of time is my favourite time saver, then I'd like to share how to achieve the crispiest and fluffiest roast with you here....let me know if you try them. My other make ahead recipes are on my instagram grid @still_35_inside. I also want to add that for me, Christmas is all about the traditional things that I''ve eaten every year ... I don't try to add a healthy twist to any of it because it's all about feeding the soul and enjoying what you want to eat at Christmas, so whatever Christmas food means to you, I hope you enjoy every mouthful and you celebrate it with the people that matter to you most!
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Peel your chosen potatoes and cut into even sized pieces (I find King Edward or Maris Piper work best)
Place in a pan of cold water with a good pinch of salt
Bring to the boil and cook for 8 mins, drain and give them a good shake
Remove to a tray and leave them to dry before freezing
Once frozen, place them in freezer bags or containers
When ready to cook, heat the oven to 200degC and place a roasting dish with your chosen fat or oil into the oven
Once hot, add the potatoes from frozen and baste with the fat/oil and return to the oven to roast for 45 minutes giving them a turn halfway through
I've seasoned them here with rosemary salt which is equal amounts of Maldon salt and rosemary leaves blitzed in a food processor or pounded in a pestle and mortar. It's worth the 2 minutes that it takes to make this and is delicious on all sorts of roast veg and soups.