Remembering Mom

Mom with LBA on his baptism and
her 75th birthday, March 2005

Today would have been my mother's 80th birthday. She was an OK cook, very basic, not very adventurous. There was the occasional flair (veal birds), or the joke, as in the time she made my siblings fried scallops and tater tots and mixed them together to get them to eat the scallops. It wasn't until I left home and learned that vegetables could have texture and that they didn't come from a can or the freezer and were even sometimes still green.

I've posted a number of recipes from my mother's kitchen and her cooking style has influenced my own food preparation. My father occasionally turned up in the kitchen as well, but he was the more adventurous cook, tending to cook without recipes and see what turned out. My brother and I are more like that, while my two sisters tend to stick to the book (or recipe card).

One recipe that my father liked were his mother's roasted potatoes. My grandmother cooked them in a big pot (usually with a roast) and when finishing them would shake them in the pot drippings and they would get all crispy and become roasted delicious nuggets. She took the secret to her grave with her - as my mother could never seem to get it right. My brother alleges that he can make them (as can my Aunt, but she's my grandmother's daughter) - so maybe it's a blood thing.

I found this recipe which proposes "Perfect Roasted Potatoes." It is a recipe that closely models my grandmother's one. I believe that in the afterlife, you get your own place and you get to have anyone you want over for dinner or coffee, or whatever. So, I am sure that my mother has been hosting people non-stop in the four years since she left us, including my grandmother. And I bet she's figured out the roasted potatoes thing. I love you, Mom. I miss you.

Pascale's Perfect Roasted Potatoes

• 1.2 kilos (2 1/2 pounds) potatoes (waxy or floury -- both types will work equally well)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or duck fat
• sea salt
  

Serves 4 generously.

Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F).

If your potatoes are smooth-skinned, scrub them well and peel them in alternative stripes so that strips of skin remain. If, on the other hand, the skin of your potatoes is rugged and grainy, peel it off completely (no need to scrub) then rinse the potatoes well in cold water.

Cut the potatoes into even chunks, about the size of a bite. Place them in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them, cover with cold water, and add a teaspoon coarse salt. Set over high heat, cover, bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.

As soon as the water boils, pour the fat into a rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet in the oven, so the fat and baking sheet will heat up.

After the 5 minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes -- they will not be cooked at that point -- and return them to the saucepan. Place a lid on the saucepan. Holding the lid firmly shut with both hands (the saucepan will be hot, so wear oven mitts or use dish towels), shake the saucepan vigorously for a few seconds, until the surface of the potato chunks is fuzzy; this will help the formation of a crust.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, pour the potatoes onto the sheet, sprinkle with sea salt, and stir well to coat with the fat.

Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway through, until cooked through (when you insert the tip of a knife in one of the pieces, it should meet no resistance), crusty, and golden. If you want a little more color on them, you can switch to grill mode for the final few minutes.

Serve immediately.