New potatoes are de rigueur throughout the warmer months but as the weather starts to turn the thought of a proper roast potato, crunchy and dipped in gravy, makes even the autumn an inviting prospect. But new potatoes don’t mind being roasted too and it’s easy to turn them into a summery version. This is one of the most used recipes in my file; it is, of course, very simple but it’s also a great way of getting that roasted taste without the parboiling. Olive oil is used in the original but if you have some duck/pork/beef fat leftover from cooking a joint then use that to make the potatoes extra delicious.

(NB I have looked in vain on the internet for the origin of this recipe which I wrote down over ten years ago. It was called ‘Potatoes, Andrea-style’ so, if anyone knows where it’s from, please let me know so I can credit the source.)

For 2 people you will need:
Cupboard (or things you may already have):
olive oil, or fat leftover from a joint, 40-60ml of the first, a good dollop of the second
garlic cloves, three
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Shopping list
new potatoes, 300g
fresh rosemary, a handful of sprigs

How to
1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan-assisted/gas mark 7.
2. Put the fat/oil into a roasting tin then into the oven to warm up.
3. If the potatoes are quite small then just scrub them to remove any dirt and leave them whole; otherwise chop them into equal-sized pieces. Peel the garlic cloves.
4. When the fat/oil is hot tip the potatoes and garlic into it and spoon the oil over them.
5. Season the potatoes, scatter the rosemary sprigs over the top and roast for about 30 minutes, stirring the potatoes occasionally to make sure that they crisp up evenly.