The thought of cooking Christmas dinner fills most of us with dread, it's one of the highlights of the day and everybody wants it to be superb.

And if you're beginning to feel the stress of it all there's no need to panic as we've got a recipe all the family will love from Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White.

Follow the restaurateur's guide for the perfect roasties.

He makes clarified butter before starting the cooking process.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

Nine medium-sized potatoes

Unsalted butter or duck or goose fat

Chicken stock cube

Method:

For the clarified butter:

  1. Slowly heat 200g of chopped unsalted butter in a pan.
  2. Discard the surface liquid (made up of milk solids and water).
  3. The remaining golden liquid is clarified butter.

For the potatoes:

  1. Chop the potatoes in half, then halves again.
  2. An hour before you plan to serve, put the chopped potatoes in a saucepan of unsalted coldwater. Place on a high heat, bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
  3. Meanwhile, put the clarified butter/fat into the roasting tin for the potatoes. Sprinkle in a chicken stock cube – this provides seasoning so there is no need for salt.
  4. Heat the fat in the oven at 190°C/Gas Mark 5.
  5. We recommend cooking them for 45 minutes. At the first sign of cracks in the potatoes’ edges remove them from the heat and drain.
  6. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and carefully place the hot potatoes into the fat, which should come up the edge of the potatoes. Baste them well with clarified butter or your turkey baste and return to your oven. Roast them for
  7. Do not touch the potatoes now until they are ready to be served, turning them may break them. Just leave them be.

Find your nearest Marco Pierre here.