I strive to master simple dishes. I don’t aspire to be a person of whom one says, “What an ambitious cook!” or “She should really open her own restaurant!”
No. I want to be someone who can be trusted to prepare a good, well-rounded, home-cooked meal. A meal that has personality, yes, but one that doesn’t try too hard, and relies chiefly on good taste and good technique.
This is why I had long been frustrated by my limited potato roasting skills. Oh, I’d roasted my share of potatoes, but I had never been able to make perfect roasted potatoes, golden and generously crusty on the outside, moist and tender on the inside.
By the time the chunks had developed enough of a crust, the flesh had begun to dry up inside, and I was left with something a bit cardboard-y. Not inedible — it takes considerable effort to render a potato inedible in my book — but not my platonic image of the roasted potato, either.
And then some years ago, my friend Pascale* shared the recipe she uses for pommes de terre rôties, which she learned from her British mother-in-law. I have blind kitchen faith in Pascale — she has never steered me wrong — and I was very excited about her technique, a classic in British cooking that was unknown to me at the time.
Here, let me show you in this video:
The Secret to Perfect Roasted Potatoes
The magic behind Pascale’s roasted potatoes unfolds thusly: the potatoes are parboiled for five minutes first, drained, and returned to the saucepan. At this point — and this is the crucial step, so pay attention — you grab the lidded pan and shake it vigorously, which not only is fun, but also makes the surface of the potato pieces fuzzy from rubbing their sides one against the others.
And wouldn’t you know it, it is this very fuzz that fosters the formation of a splendid crust when you then bake the potatoes. The parboiling step reduces the baking time and ensures that the flesh inside stays moist.
Pascale posted this recipe in late afternoon on a Sunday in December. I read it in early evening, and an hour later, the roasted potatoes were gracing our table, making this a personal TTK (time-to-kitchen) record.
Seven years have passed (!) since that inaugural batch, and I have made the recipe dozens and dozens of times since then, using oil or duck fat and different potato varieties (ratte, roseval, charlotte, vitelotte…) to stupendous results, every time.
It is a dish that’s great for dinner parties, too: you can parboil and bruise the potatoes before your guests arrive, then slip them in the preheated oven as everyone’s settling in. I’ve served them with Muriel’s chicken, with whiskey-flambéed veal paupiettes, and with seared duck breasts, but I think my favorite pairing was with the quails I stuffed and roasted, loosely following a recipe in Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.
So, is this one you have in your repertoire? Are you going to try it? (I’m warning you, there’s no way back!)
Have you tried this? Share your pics on Instagram!
Please tag your pictures with #cnzrecipes. I'll share my favorites!
Perfect Roasted Potatoes Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4 generously (see note).
Ingredients
- 1.2 kilos (2 1/2 pounds) potatoes (waxy or floury -- both types will work equally well)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or duck fat
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F).
- If your potatoes are smooth-skinned, scrub them well and peel them in alternative stripes so that strips of skin remain. If, on the other hand, the skin of your potatoes is rugged and grainy, peel it off completely (no need to scrub) then rinse the potatoes well in cold water.
- Cut the potatoes into even chunks, about 2 cm (3/4 inch) in width. Place them in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them, cover with cold water, and add 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Set over high heat, cover, bring to a low boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- As soon as the water boils, pour the fat into a rimmed baking sheet, and place the sheet in the oven, so the fat and baking sheet will heat up.
- After the 5 minutes of boiling, drain the potatoes -- they will not be cooked at that point -- and return them to the saucepan. Add the fine sea salt and the rosemary, if using.
- Place a lid on the saucepan. Holding the lid firmly shut with both hands (the saucepan will be hot, so wear oven mitts or use dish towels), shake the saucepan vigorously for a few seconds, until the surface of the potato chunks is fuzzy; this will help the formation of a crust.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, pour the potatoes onto the sheet, and stir well to coat with the fat.
- Return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes halfway through, until cooked through (when you insert the tip of a knife in one of the pieces, it should meet no resistance), crusty, and golden. If you want a little more color on them, you can switch to grill mode for the final few minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I normally plan to serve about 200 to 250 grams (7 to 9 ounces) of potato per person, but these are so good people tend to want a little more.
- Adapted from Pascale Weeks' pommes de terre rôties.
https://cnz.to/recipes/vegetables-grains/perfect-roasted-potatoes-recipe/
Unless otherwise noted, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.
This post was first published in January 2010 and fully updated in October 2016.
FAQs
Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.
How does Gordon Ramsay make the best roast potatoes? ›
In a video online, Gordon explained: “For crispy roast potatoes, you can depend on them, my tip is to parboil them, leave them to steam dry, then sprinkle them with semolina or flour, and then give them a good roughing up.”
Why are my roast potatoes never crispy? ›
If roasted potatoes lack their crunchy sheen, overcrowding is usually the culprit. Just as overcrowding bacon or mushrooms in a saucepan causes disappointingly mushy results, placing potatoes too close to each other on a baking sheet will prevent them from crisping while they roast.
What is the best oil for roasting potatoes? ›
Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get hotter without imparting off flavors.
What happens if you don't soak potatoes? ›
A: First let's talk about why cut potatoes need to be immersed in water to begin with. The reason is to prevent the potatoes exposure to air, which causes dehydration, oxidation, and discoloration. Immersing cut potatoes will also help rinse off excess starch.
Should you boil potatoes before roasting? ›
Boil chunks of potato until they're just tender, toss them none-too-gently with fat (ideally beef drippings) to rough up their surface, then roast them until they're crisp and crackling. The boiling and roughing-up steps are the real keys.
How do you keep roast potatoes crispy? ›
If you want to make this roast potatoes day before recipe and keep the potatoes crispy, ensure you put them in hot oil before baking them. This will help the potatoes stay crispy. If you're preparing roast potatoes in advance and find they have gone soggy in the fridge.
What is the best oil or fat for roast potatoes? ›
Goose fat is one of the first choices for roast potatoes because first of all – it tastes nice! It has a really rich flavour compared to your more common vegetable oils. It's a bit like how cooking your roast potatoes in dripping from your turkey can add more flavour to your spuds too – they're both animal fats.
How do you roast potatoes Bobby Flay? ›
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Toss the potatoes with the canola oil, garlic paste and salt and pepper to taste. Place on a sheet tray and roast until cooked through and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately fold in the herbs.
Roast for 1hr until golden and crisp, and don't forget to turn them occasionally to ensure they cook evenly. Here's a few tricks to try to make them even more delicious. Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch.
To have a truly marvellous roast potato, one must simply let the potato dry completely after parboiling, before roasting in extremely hot fat. If you have two ovens you can cook them separately to your roast at a different temperature.
How do you prepare roast potatoes in advance Jamie Oliver? ›
Put the dripping, butter and 1 tablespoon of oil in your largest roasting tray placed on a medium heat. Tip in the potatoes, add a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then toss to coat. Spread them out in one, fairly snug, even layer leaving a small gap between them. Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
Should you coat potatoes in oil before baking? ›
Adding oil to potatoes before baking is perfectly fine, just a personal preference. Without oil the Idaho russet skin bakes up crispy, with oil the skin will carry a lot of the flavor of the oil so some people have a preference for using olive oil or peanut oil.
Can you put too much oil in roast potatoes? ›
Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy. Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil.
What is the difference between roasting and baking potatoes? ›
And potatoes are even more confusing: you can both roast and bake a potato, but a roast potato aims for crispiness, while a baked potato aims for softness.
How long should you soak potatoes in water? ›
If you're pressed for time, the slightly sticky, cut potatoes should be soaked for a minimum of 15 minutes. However, a longer soak time may allow more starch to be removed. So, if you can prep the fries ahead of time, a few hours of soaking can help make them even crispier.
How long can you leave potatoes in water before roasting? ›
How long can peeled and cut potatoes sit in water before cooking, before they begin taking on too much water? A: We usually recommend no more than 24 hours. You can keep the potatoes from absorbing the water by making sure the water is not salted, and is chilled (you can even add ice to the water).
Why do chefs soak potatoes? ›
In addition, this simple step will help potatoes cook more evenly. This is because soaking potatoes removes excess starch, which can build up and create a gummy and uneven texture. You can achieve the best results if you soak your potatoes, strain them, and then soak them again in fresh water.
Why does soaking potatoes in water make them crispy? ›
Soaking the sliced potatoes in water helps to draw out some of the starch from the middle of the potato, resulting in a sturdier, crispier French fry.
