Sunday Potatoes

Growing up in the Swartland, our family pretty much stuck to the traditional Sunday thing.  Church in the morning, Sunday School after and then...for me the highlight of the week - Sunday lunch.  This always consisted of a roast, two or three veggies and a pudding.  But no Sunday lunch was complete without "braai aartappels" as roast potatoes are called in Afrikaans.


I remember my paternal grandmother had a special oven casserole that she only used for making roast potatoes.  This is also the way Miss Lawson advocates for her "best ever" roast potatoes.  However, for me the mere thought of having to clean off the burnt oil splatters from my little Taiwanese oven, is the stuff of nightmares.  So I just deep fry in sunflower oil, in my trusty old wok.



Sunday Potatoes


Ingredients:

  • potatoes, about 1 medium sized per person, peeled*
  • water, boiling
  • salt
  • oil for deep frying

Method:


  1. Cut the potatoes in thirds, at angles if you can.
  2. Bring the water to a boil, add the salt and potatoes.
  3. Parboil the potatoes for about 5 minutes until almost done.
  4. Drain off the water and allow the potatoes to cool.  I leave them on my balcony for about 10 minutes.
  5. After the potatoes cooled down, shake them around in the pot or colander to ruff them up a bit.  This helps to make them nice and crispy on the outside later.
  6. Carefully drop the potatoes (in batches usually) in the hot oil and fry until golden brown and crispy.  Drain on some kitchen paper and  serve immediately.


* These days most cookbooks will tell you to use this or that type of potato.  This is great for when you live in a western country where there actually are different kinds of potatoes.  However, on my tropical Ilha Formosa there are no different kinds...just potatoes!

Comments

  1. My ouma het ook so oondpan gehad vir haar aartappels, wat ek gelukkig genoeg was om te erf. Jou aartappels lyk heerlik!

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  2. Wynand, ek probeer nou al 2 jaar lank om Sunday lunch tradisie te begin met die skoonfamilie, maar ek is nog onsuksesvol. Hier gaan hulle op 'n Sondag winkel toe en eet in die foodcourt. Maar ek gaan aanhou probeer. Hopelik kom die mense net om my stil te kry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haai julle, dankie vir die comments!

    @Arcadia, ek het ook my ouma se casserole geërf! Toe ek egter Taiwan toe verhuis, moes dit agterbly. My broer gebruik dit nou, as ek dit nie mis het nie.

    @Adele, aanhouer wen! Dit 'n great tradisie en iets wat ek graag hier onder my vriende wil begin. Die Taiwanese kook self egter amper nooit. Dis vir hulle meer gerieflik (en goedkoper) om sommer kos op straat te koop oppad huis toe. Die meeste van my kollegas is verbaas dat ek "die moeite doen" om kos te maak.

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  4. I KNEW it! I recognise those potatoes....I also parboil and shake them around a bit in the pot then dry them out a bit...and then I finish them in the hot oven with the roast for about half an hour or more in a shallow dish with just about a tablespoon of oil and a knob of melted butter....or better yet...the left over lard that I collect from when I fry bacon.....hmmmmm. Sometimes I chop a bit of fresh rosemary and toss it into them as well! They say duck or goose fat works best but I havent had the courage to go that route. I might die from the ecstacy!

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  5. Oh my! I can just imagine those roasies, infused with that smoky bacon flavour...njams mams!

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