Desiree reds: the best roast potatoes?

I bought some Desiree reds earlier, intending to make bangers & mash later in the week. Having discovered all our potatoes had started sprouting, being that they were approximately three weeks out of date, I was faced with a bit of a conundrum. Do I serve up my roast dinner with mash, or do I try roasting the Desirees (being 'old' potatoes, after all)?

I was glad I tried roasting them. The skins come off rather easily, but remain crisp and not overly red; the potato itself is amazingly creamy, and that's worth it for me.

Ingredients

• 800g Desiree potatoes, skins on, eyes gouged
• 3 tablespoons sunflower/olive oil mixture
• 1 heaped dessert spoon plain flour

Switch on the oven to 200°C (for a fan oven). Place the oil on a shallow baking tray and put in the oven to heat up.

Cut the potatoes into appropriately-sized pieces (think 5cm high) and boil in salted water for 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, return to the saucepan and scatter half the flour over the potatoes. Put the lid on the saucepan and shake the pan vigorously to rough up the potatoes. Scatter the remaining flour and repeat.

Take the tray out of the oven and place the potatoes on the tray in a single layer (be careful of the hot oil!). Return to the oven and bake for 60 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through to make sure they don't stick.

No photos, the process is rather boring to look at, really! See how they come out for yourself.