Salt – Roasted Potatoes from Berber & Q

Serves 4–6 as a light main or as part of a spread

Salt-roasting works by drawing the excess moisture out of the ingredient being cooked and in so doing intensifying its flavour. There are different ways to salt-roast. You can encase the ingredient entirely in a salt ‘crust’, in which the salt is bound by water or egg white, a technique that captures most of the escaping moisture so that the vegetable (or protein) cooks evenly and gently steams within. Or you can simply roast on a bed of coarse salt granules. This recipe is a combination of both techniques, covering the potatoes as much as possible without going to the effort of encasing them in a crust.

Up to 2kg (4lb 6oz) coarse sea salt
8 medium baking potatoes, such as a Russet or Idaho, rinsed and scrubbed
3 rosemary sprigs
3 thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves

Additional toppings:

Extra-virgin olive oil
Sumac Yoghurt
Harissa Crème Fraîche
Confit Garlic cloves
Green Tahina
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
Confit Shallots
Tomato and Pomegranate
Dressing
Pickled Guindilla Chillies, store-bought
Flaked sea salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4.

Layer the bottom of a heavy-based ovenproof casserole or saucepan with salt and place the potatoes on top, evenly spaced so that they aren’t touching but still snug. Add the herbs and garlic cloves, and sprinkle the rest of the salt on= top of the potatoes so that they are almost covered.

Roast the potatoes for 45–55 minutes, or until slightly shrivelled and completely tender, then remove from the oven.

Dust the salt off the potatoes and transfer to a serving plate. Gently squeeze each potato at its base so that the flesh bursts through the top skin, or split each potato open with a knife. Drizzle each potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and few generous grinds of black pepper. Top each potato with a generous dollop of sumac yoghurt and/or whatever alternative toppings you like. Serve baking hot ideally, but at room temperature, they will still taste delicious.

This was the Salt-Roasted Potatoes recipe from Berber & Q: On Vegetables by Josh Katz.