It says here in my copy of The Times, and must therefore by definition be true, that American researchers who studied 50,000 women aged 50-79 for eight years — the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted — found that a low-fat diet had no effect on the risk of cancer or heart disease.
That would be “no effect” as in “none whatsoever”. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Which is what I’ve been saying for years, but no one ever listens to an old fat bloke. There can be few more risible maxims than “You are what you eat”. If that were true my daughter would be a rice cake and I would be a King Edward. Eating fat can no more make you fat than eating broccoli can make you green, although why anyone would want to eat broccoli under any circumstances remains one of life’s impenetrable mysteries, like how you grow seedless grapes.
Anyway, let joy be unconfined. Hail fat, great lolloping globules of it, from lard and beef dripping to Brittany butter and glorious, glorious goose fat. With potatoes, natch.
Goose-fat potatoes
Serves 4
Prep 10min
Cook 20min
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800g floury potatoes
1tbsp goose fat
4 fat garlic cloves
Handful fresh thyme
Coarse sea salt
METHOD
Peel and chop the potatoes into 2cm dice. Heat the fat in a large, heavy-based pan till it begins to shimmer on the surface. Add the potatoes and shake over a high heat till they’re well coated. Reduce the heat and cook gently for 15min till golden. Crush and roughly chop the garlic, add it to the pan with the chopped thyme and cook for another couple of minutes. Serve sprinkled with salt.