Roast potatoes are something that can make or break a roast dinner depending on how well they turn out.
For those looking for the best way to cook their potatoes for their Sunday roast, our Express Food panel have shared their favourite recipes to get crispy and fluffy results.
Angela Patrone
While there are so many different ways to cook roast potatoes, there is one winning recipe I always turn to and am complimented on.
Michelin-trained chef Poppy O’Toole’s “ultimate” roast potato recipe gets five stars from me and has become my go-to recipe.
She strips roast potatoes down to just three ingredients – no need for expensive goose or duck fat. You just need potatoes, vegetable oil and salt.
This three-ingredient combination makes roast potatoes that have the perfect outer crisp and fluffy interior. Here’s how to make them.
Ingredients
- Maris Piper potatoes peeled and cut into equal-sized chunks
- 100ml vegetable oil
- Plenty of salt
Method
Start by peeling the potatoes and cutting each of them three times into four roughly equal-sized chunks.
Add the chopped-up potatoes to a pan, I gave them a wash under cold water. This helps to rinse off the excess starch and allows the potatoes to crisp up beautifully in the oven.
Once rinsed, refill the pan of potatoes with cold salted water. Then put the potatoes on to boil for 15 minutes. You can use a knife to tell if the potatoes are done. You don’t want them too mushy as they won’t hold their shape.
After, drain off the potatoes and leave them to steam dry in the colander with a tea towel over it for a further 15 minutes. This is an important step that makes them extra fluffy inside.
While the potatoes were steam drying, I preheated the oven to 220°C Fan/475°F/Gas Mark 9 and added the oil to the baking tray before putting it into the oven to get hot.
Once the potatoes have been left for 15 minutes, give them a good toss in the colander to fluff them up and then carefully transfer them to the hot tray with the oil. Using a spoon, make sure to coat all sides of the potatoes in the oil before putting them in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, take the potatoes out of the oven and tune the heat down to 180°C Fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6. While the potatoes are out of the oven, give them a turn and return them to the oven for a further 15 minutes before checking on them again. You may need less or more time so keep an eye out.
Once golden and crunchy, take them out of the oven, sprinkle them with a little more salt and enjoy.
Phoebe Cornish
Roast potatoes are the most exciting side dish served with a roast dinner in my household, and I’m always in charge of them.
While I used to rely on spitting-hot oil to achieve that desirable crunch when the spuds are cooked, I discovered a new method last year.
This involves adding one teaspoon of baking soda to the boiling water at the first stage of cooking – when the potatoes are boiling.
It looks a bit crazy at first when the water turns white and foamy, but it definitely works.
Combined with drying the boiled potatoes out as much as possible before adding them to a tray of super hot oil, the result of this method is undeniably crunchy and golden roasties with a crumbly, fluffy core.
Ingredients
- 1kg Maris Piper potatoes
- One teaspoon of baking soda
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Garlic granules
- Rosemary sprig, plus extra for seasoning
Method
Rinse and peel the potatoes then chop them into even-sized chunks – I quarter mine if they’re on the smaller size.
Fill a kettle with water then once boiled, pour into a large saucepan, or two if you don’t have enough space for all the potatoes in one.
Set the hob to medium heat then carefully lower the chopped potatoes into the water.
Add one teaspoon of baking soda to the pan, and gently stir, then leave the potatoes to cook for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large baking dish with a layer of oil and a sprig of rosemary, then place in a hot oven set to 180C.
When the potatoes are fork tender – almost on the brink of falling apart, carefully drain them before transferring onto a cold baking tray.
Leave them to dry out for around 10 minutes, then carefully remove the oil tray from the oven and set aside, trying to avoid any spitting particles.
Use a large spoon to transfer the dry potatoes into the oil one by one, then when they’re arranged in one neat layer, season generously with salt, pepper, garlic granules and rosemary.
Return the dish to the oven for 40 minutes to one hour at 200C, depending on how crunchy you like them. Be sure to shake the dish and turn the spuds at 20-minute intervals while cooking.
Serve hot from the oven.
Millie Bull
When it comes to my go-to roast potato recipe, it’s all about preparation, flavour and saving time. There’s nothing worse than spending hours slaving over the oven when you could be tending to your guests.
Like most people, I believe nearly every savoury dish can be improved or enhanced with a couple of cloves of garlic, some herbs and cheese, and the same can be said for roast potatoes.
While it may not be traditional, I can promise you it tastes delicious and will become a family favourite in no time!
There are a couple of different ways I prepare my roast potatoes to save time:
Preparing your potatoes in advance
Peeling and boiling potatoes can take hours so if you don’t have time on the day, prepare them in advance for a quicker roast on Sunday.
1. Peel your potatoes and chop them into even-sized chunks. If some of your potatoes are already small, leave them whole.
2. Next, pop them in a large pan of cold salted water and bring them to a boil, allowing them to simmer gently for around 15 minutes. As Angela notes, you can use a knife to check whether your potatoes are done. You need to make sure your potatoes hold their shape as there’s nothing worse than trying to make roast potatoes from mush.
3. Once par-boiled, tip them gently into a colander and allow them to cool down until they’re just warm.
4. Next, pop them in a tray in a single layer and put them in the fridge ready to roast. They can be prepared up to two days in advance, saving you both time and effort on the day.
5. When you want to use them, remove them from the fridge and roast them how you usually would.
Quick roast potatoes
If you haven’t prepared your potatoes in advance and need a quick yet flavoursome recipe then I’d recommend this one.
1. Rather than peeling the potatoes, simply wash, dry and chop them up making sure to leave the skin on.
2. Next, add the potatoes to a large bowl or baking dish and toss them in olive oil, minced garlic, parmesan cheese and thyme.
3. Place them in a baking dish or roasting tin and allow them to roast for around 45 to 60 minutes depending on how crisp and golden you want them to be.
The amount of garlic, thyme, parmesan and seasoning can be altered to suit your taste but I use around three or four cloves of garlic, a couple of teaspoons of dried thyme and a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese.
Garlic powder can be used instead of fresh garlic and feta can be used instead of parmesan if you want a more salty flavour.
