Rafaiol's Restaurant

[Aitch]

I have never had any problems roasting Portuguese potatoes & I use a number of different varieties, white & red. As long as they're par-boiled & the fat in the oven tray (I use olive oil) is really, really hot I've never had a failure, lovely & crispy on the outside, light & fluffy on the inside - perfect.

I will vouch for that!

[tricky]

Let us know when you are doing them again Blue!, we'll all come

[Bruce Wallis]

I have never had any problems roasting Portuguese potatoes & I use a number of different varieties, white & red. As long as they're par-boiled & the fat in the oven tray (I use olive oil) is really, really hot I've never had a failure, lovely & crispy on the outside, light & fluffy on the inside - perfect.

I'll probably be shot down in flames here.....but I always thought you couldn't roast potatoes in Olive Oil, because it doesnt get hot enough???

Duck and Goose fat is wonderful....so I must try and see how olive oil works......

My secret is that I only eat out on Sundays, because on the "slim controller's" make Wallis slim regime, I'm not allowed roasties or chips at home!!!

[blue]

It is a very common misconception that you can't cook at high temperatures with olive oil. It should not be heated beyong its smoke point & this varies according to the quality of the oil a very high quality extra virgin oil has a high smoke point. Goose fat is excellent for roasting potatoes, not so excellent for your heart, not that any tattie cooked in fat is going to be healthy. I find that tats roasted in olive oil are less greasy. Roast potatoes are one of my very many weaknesses.

[roy4eyes]

I thought this was a posting about Rafaiol's restaurant whose saute potatoes were delicious rather than a discussion on roast potatoes

[ron5000]

I thought this was a posting about Rafaiol's restaurant whose saute potatoes were delicious rather than a discussion on roast potatoes

No. It is now all about roast potatoes.

[Bruce Wallis]

The very best saute potatoes in the area, are served at O'Barrada, twixt Lagoa and Silves.

[ron5000]

I thought this was a posting about Rafaiol's restaurant whose saute potatoes were delicious rather than a discussion on roast potatoes

No. It is now all about roast potatoes.

And sauté

[roy4eyes]

Touche

[Graham L]

Not so much about roast potatoes but the endless wait for our for our food we had on Sunday evening, 8th September.

We had not booked and although appearing busy we were shown to a table without any problem.
8.10pm - we arrived
8.30pm - cover delivered (not ordered) plus menu. No offer of drinks
8.40pm - we ordered, then after 15 or so minutes a lady came up to us and told us there would be a wait of at least an hour for our main course.
Time then became irrelevant.
Starters arrived and eaten, then suppose over an hour later our main course, which was good (and so it should have been)
However, the attention to patrons was zero. No further visit from the main lady to apologise for the wait or see if we had enjoyed our meal.
As soon as the bill had been delivered, the waiters were hanging around but still no real customer service. We left at 10.30pm and took a walk to Helders for a welcome drink where we were treated properly.

We thought on a previous visit to Julio's that that place was unfriendly and haven't been back, but Rafaiol's restaurant needs to get a grip with reality and treat people with respect. We shall not return. Thankfully we have a good choice in the Carvoeiro area.

[Bruce Wallis]

The question that has to be asked is why the hell did you continue to sit there, and not just walk out??

[Graham L]

We thought about that, but were more hungry than just wanting to walk on elsewhere where the time factor might have worked out to be more or just the same.

[pato]

EMM Try using goose fat!

Is that what they call a Sunday Goosing?

[piggywidden93]

Yes, we found them an unfriendly bunch, won't bother again

[widge]

I thought this was a posting about Rafaiol's restaurant whose saute potatoes were delicious rather than a discussion on roast potatoes

No. It is now all about roast potatoes.

Not a lot of people know this………..

Nigella crisps hers in duck fat, Delia prefers lard. Jamie Oliver 'chuffs' his up in a pan with lemon and rosemary, while Heston Blumenthal insists on using a rare Scottish spud.
A consensus, it seems, has yet to be reached on how to make the ultimate roast potato.
But stand aside, celebrity chefs. For not a lot of people know that the person who serves the best roast potatoes is Michael Caine.
Interviewed on Desert Island Discs on Sunday, the actor proudly boasted that his Christmas versions are the finest of all.

So what's his secret? Caine swears by soaking parboiled potatoes in cold extra virgin olive oil before cooking, allowing the fat to be absorbed deep into the spuds' flesh.
He then pops them onto a baking tray and into a hot oven for an hour and, low and behold, they emerge with a honeycomb coating that is deep, crisp and even.