Parmentier Potatoes

I've been brought up on home cooked meals, so I've not always been huge on shop-bought ready meals. However, I always enjoyed buying pre-made parmentier potatoes from the supermarket and I alwys thought them to be more hassle to make than enough, One day, however, one day I decided to bite the bullet and have a go at making my own version. The result was seven kinds of awesome and I've never looked back. Shop bought are nice, but these, for me, are on another level. Subsequently, this has become one of my favourite potato recipes, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Ingredients: 8 Medium Sized Potatoes 4-6 Slices Bacon Butter Olive Oil 20cm Sprig of Fresh Rosemary (Chopped) 1 1/2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Thyme Salt Pepper Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes, and cut them into 1cm cubes and place in a bowl of water to remove a little of the starch. Chop the Bacon into small chunks.
2. Melt a little butter and oil in a large, deep-sided saucepan and fry the bacon until cooked but not crispy. Remove from the pan and set to one side.
3. Melt some more butter (around about a 5-10 gram chunk) in the same saucepan with a little more oil for about five minutes.
4. Mix in the chopped herbs and season with a little salt (not too much as the butter and bacon will add a certain amount of salt content) and plenty of ground black pepper. Continue to fry the potatoes until they're softened and have begun to brown.
5. Next add in about 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese and return the bacon to the man. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat.
6. Line a baking tray with some baking parchment and spread the potatoes across the pan in a single layer. Sprinkle with some more parmesan cheese to give an extra crisp.
7. Bake in the oven at about 180C for 20-30 minutes or until nicely browned and crispy. Make sure to shuffle the potatoes on the tray every now and again to ensure that they cook evenly and don't stick to the paper or burn.