Choose a good, floury potato such as Desirée, Maris Piper or King Edward. Place even sized pieces of potato or parsnip in cold salted water and bring to the boil in a large AGA saucepan.

  • Parboil for 8-10 minutes, until the potatoes are tarting to soften, then drain well for 5 minutes, until the steam subsides. Shake well in the colander or dry pan, to roughen the edges of each potato.
  • Heat your chosen fat or oil in an AGA roasting tin on the floor of the roasting oven until good and hot, then add the potatoes and turn so that they are well coated. If using several roasting tins or the hard anodised baking trays, rotate them so that they all enjoy a spell crisping up on the floor of the oven.

Goose fat makes great roast potatoes, failing that a mixture of two fats gives the best results, e.g. solid vegetable fat and sunflower oil, used 50:50. For parsnips, if not using honey or syrup elsewhere in your menu, a little added near the end of the cooking gives a great glaze, perhaps with a couple of tablespoons of brown or white mustard seeds. Alternatively, dredge with a little grated parmesan and parsley.