Crispy cheese roast potatoes with coriander and black olive salsa Recipe
This roasted potato number leans in on the cacio e pepper concept of pecorino and pepper, and rests on a fresh and bitey coriander and olive salsa. Now, I always like to place any kind of dipping, swiping sauce action at the base – you went to all this effort for crisp potatoes and you don’t want to lose that crunch you’ve worked so hard for. Or serve the salsa to the side of the spuds.
Ingredients
1kg small potatoes, skin-on (I used kestrel, but any medium-starch potato is good)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 knob of butter
salt and pepper
1 cup finely grated pecorino
Coriander and black olive salsa
½ cup pitted black olives
juice and zest of 1 small lemon
leaves from 1 large bunch of coriander, washed
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C fan-forced (210C conventional).
2. Add the potatoes to a large saucepan of boiling, salted water. Cook for 15 minutes. Strain and return the potatoes to the pan. Cover with a lid and, holding firmly, shake vigorously so the potato skins split in parts.
3. Transfer the potatoes to a large roasting tray and add the olive oil, butter, a generous seasoning of salt and pepper, and half the pecorino. Toss briefly to coat then roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are gloriously golden.
4. Sprinkle over the remaining pecorino and give everything an extra heft of pepper. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes or until the added cheese has melted and crisped.
5. While the potatoes are roasting, make the salsa. Add the ingredients to a blender and blitz briefly – you want it to still have lots of chunky texture. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
6. Smear the salsa over the base of a serving platter. Top with the potatoes and give everything another hit of salt and pepper. Serve piping hot.
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