Roasted Potatoes with Blackened Chillis

On a cold and rainy day like today, I’m too lazy to stand in front of the stove for more than 5–10 mins. So that calls for a “cheating” update to one of my favourite snacking recipes—Quick-Fried Potatoes with Blackened Chillis. In go the ‘taters into my trusty oven for a hassle-free roast and I get the same irresistible pop’ems in a breeze.

 

Ingredients 

1 tsp Vegetable Oil
36 whole Dried Red Chillis
4 lbs [2 kgs] Potatoes (cut into 1-inch cubes)
Sea Salt (to taste)
4 tbsp Olive Oil

1. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis from pan and set aside on a large platter. 
2. Pre-heat oven to 450º F (230ºC). 
3. Put potatoes on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with olive oil, and using your hands, toss well to mix. 
4. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, then stir the potatoes with a large spoon to ensure that they caramelise evenly. Continue roasting for another 15 mins. 
5. Remove potatoes from oven and transfer to the platter with chillis. Using your hands, crush the whole chillis roughly into small pieces and toss well with potatoes. Serve immediately.