Comfort food: the roast potato recipe that went viral and Irish-style nachos

Plus, his recipe for Irish style potato nachos and those 'emotional' roast potatoes 

TikTok chef Daniel Lambert's 'emotional' roast potatoes

Daniel Lambert's Emotional Roast Potatoes

This method of roasting in a cupcake tin means each potato gets just the right amount of heat and oil resulting in a super crispy roastie, perfect for the Sunday roast

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Side

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 3 large Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters  

• 1.5 litres vegetable stock, cooled  

• Vegetable oil  

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper  

• To serve : 

• Fresh rosemary leaves 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.  

2. Place the potatoes into a large pot with the cold vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes then strain, return them to the empty pot and allow them to steam dry. This increases the starch content and gives you those amazing fluffy insides!  

3. Put a teaspoon of vegetable oil in each cup of a 12-cup metal cupcake tin, then place the tray in the preheated oven for 15 minutes to get the oil really hot.  

4. Remove the cupcake tray and place one piece of spud in each cup. Be careful here as the oil will be insanely hot!

5. Turn the oven down to 170°C and roast the potatoes for 25–30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes or so.

6. Keep an eye on them as they may need more or less time depending on your oven. When they’re golden brown and crispy, they’re ready!  

7. Sprinkle over some fresh rosemary, season to taste with salt and black pepper and enjoy!  

8. Note: f you don’t have a metal cupcake tray, you can use a regular roasting tin. Just put in 65ml of oil and heat in the oven as above before roasting. 

Slow-cooked Meatball Marinara

Daniel Lambert's take on the Subway classic

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 5 hours 20 mins

Total Time

 5 hours 25 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• 300g beef mince  

• 1 large onion, diced  

• 40g breadcrumbs  

• Leaves from 1 sprig of fresh thyme  

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper   

• 2 eggs, beaten  

• Olive oil, for frying 

• For the sauce : 

• 150g smoked bacon lardons  

• 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and diced  

• 500g tomato passata  

• 200g plum tomatoes (½ a tin)  

• 1 tablespoon paprika  

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder  

• leaves from 1 sprig of fresh thyme  

• To serve: 

• 4 baguettes or soft rolls  

• Grated mozzarella cheese  

• Handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped  

• Burger sauce 

Method

1. Start by making your meatballs. Mix the beef mince, onion, breadcrumbs, thyme, egg, and salt together and roll into golf ball-sized meatballs.

2. Drizzle a little oil into a frying pan and fry over a medium to high heat until golden brown – they will still be raw in the middle so don’t taste them yet! Set aside for now.  

3. To make the sauce, put a little more oil into the same pan and sweat off the bacon and chilli before adding all the remaining ingredients. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the meaty bits into the sauce, then crush everything down and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes.  

4. Put the meatballs into a slow cooker, pour this sauce over them and cook on low for 5 hours.  

5. To serve, split and toast your baguettes or rolls under a grill, then fill with the meatballs, plenty of grated mozzarella cheese, a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley and a dollop of burger sauce.  

Irish-style Potato Nachos

These nachos are a quick-fire way to impress at a party

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 60 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Course

 Side

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• For the nacho mince: 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil  

• 500g Irish beef mince (8% fat is best)  

• 200g smoked bacon, diced  

• 1 onion, diced  

• 300ml Guinness  

• 100ml beef stock  

• 150g tomatoes, chopped  

• a sprig of thyme  

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce  

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin  

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper  

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder  

• 1 teaspoon paprika  

• 1 teaspoon onion powder  

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar  

• salt 

• For the potato slices : 

• 6 large Maris Piper potatoes, scrubbed  

• 1–2 litres vegetable oil  

• To serve: 

• 150g Cheddar cheese, grated  

• sour cream  

• 4 spring onions, finely sliced 

Method

1. Start by heating the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the beef mince and bacon pieces and fry over a medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mince is brown and the bacon is cooked.

2. Add the onion into the pan and cook for a further minute or so.  

3. Pour the Guinness into the pan. Let this reduce for about 10 minutes on a medium heat. Once the stout has reduced, add in the beef stock, chopped tomatoes, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, spices and sugar.

4. Stir until everything is combined, season well with salt and let the nacho mince simmer gently for about 20 minutes until it has thickened nicely.  

5. Cut your potatoes lengthways into 5mm-thick discs and pat them dry with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper.  

6. Heat the oil in your deep fat fryer to 180°C – you will need about 2 litres depending on the size of your fryer. If you don’t have a deep fat fryer, you’ll need a thermometer or temperature probe, a deep saucepan and about a litre of vegetable oil – your pot should be no more than one-third full. 

7. Fry the potatoes for 8–10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. Season them with salt and place in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8. Once your mince mix is ready, spoon it on top of your potatoes. Try to work fast or you risk your spuds starting to get soggy! Sprinkle the grated Cheddar over the mince and place under a medium-high grill until the cheese is golden brown.

9. Transfer the nachos to a serving dish, if you like – I usually just eat these straight from the tray! Top with dollops of sour cream and spring onions. Serve immediately.