Maxim's oven roasted potatoes

No roast lamb or roast chicken is complete without a side serving of delicious oven roasted potatoes. While roasting potatoes in the oven seem simple enough, there are certain techniques to take note of if you want to obtain a crispy golden crust while having a moist, tender and buttery interior.

This is the recipe for the famous oven roasted potatoes served at Maxim’s, one of the most popular and fashionable restaurants in Paris. Now you can make it at home and make it a staple in your family menu. These oven-roasted potatoes are terrific whether accompanying grilled fish, roast lamb, or seared duck. Because they are cut thinly, they don’t make you too full and will leave a lot of room in your stomach for enjoying the main course and the following courses. They also make a great snack, a richer and more luxurious alternative to chips.

Two of the most common problems that people encounter when roasting potatoes is that they either become overly brown and dry or they become mushy and do not develop a delicious crust. In this recipe, the potatoes are washed and dried carefully so they cook better. After peeling and slicing the potatoes into thin round slices, the potatoes are sautéed in a generous amount of butter. While cooking the potatoes in butter, they are turned several times to make their surfaces a bit fuzzy. This fuzziness is crucial for the formation of a crispy exterior when the potatoes are roasted in the oven. This method also helps to keep the center moist and tender.

Cleaning up is also a hassle when making roasted potatoes because the brown crust sticks to the pan and makes it difficult to remove. One solution is to line the baking dish with a foil or simply filling the pan with hot soapy water after use and leave it for an hour until the crust comes off on its own.