These potatoes are for an occasional treat as they are roasted in the drippings from slices of pancetta. It is an Umbrian way of roasting potatoes. Traditionally, the cooking in that region of Italy is based on local, seasonal foods with absolutely nothing going to waste. I sourced the pancetta from an Italian food shop and asked for it to be sliced quite thickly. It is placed on a slatted baking rack above the potatoes. The fat drips out of the pancetta onto the potatoes and they soak up some of the slightly smoked flavor of the pancetta which itself dries out and becomes like crackling. Serve each person with potatoes topped with the crackling. Goes well with roast pork or chicken.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
4 x thickish slices of pancetta
1 pound waxy potatoes (Yukon Gold or new potatoes) – cut into bite-size chunks
Put the potatoes in a metal roasting dish and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Place a rack over the potatoes and lay the pancetta slices on it.
Cook for about 45 minutes until potatoes are nicely browned. Turn the potatoes over periodically.
Serve immediately while pancetta is still crisp, placing pancetta over a portion of potatoes.
