Description
Discover the ultimate recipe for the best ever roast potatoes featuring crispy, golden exteriors and fluffy interiors. Using Maris Piper potatoes and sunflower oil, this method ensures perfectly roasted potatoes with a delightful crunch, made easier by preparing the potatoes a day or two in advance.
Ingredients
Scale
Potatoes
- 3kg Maris Piper potatoes
Cooking Fat
- Sunflower oil (enough to cover bottom of roasting tin about 0.5cm deep)
Seasoning
- Salt (for boiling water and to sprinkle on finished potatoes)
Instructions
- Prepare the potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks roughly the size of a clementine. You can leave them whole, halve, or quarter depending on size. Place the potatoes into a large pan of cold, salted water.
- Parboil: Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes until tender throughout but not falling apart. This step ensures they cook evenly and develop a fluffy interior.
- Drain and cool: Carefully drain the potatoes in a colander and leave them to cool without shaking or disturbing them to maintain their structure. Once cool with no more steam rising, arrange them in a single layer on a tray and refrigerate uncovered for one to two days to dry out, which helps develop a crispy exterior when roasted.
- Preheat oil: When ready to roast, preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan/gas mark 6). Pour enough sunflower oil into a deep roasting tin to create an even 0.5cm layer. Place the tin in the hot oven for 5 minutes to heat the oil thoroughly.
- Coat the potatoes: Remove the hot roasting tin carefully, then arrange the potatoes one at a time in the oil without overcrowding, making sure they do not touch. Use a spoon to turn each potato so it is thoroughly coated with hot oil. Don’t worry if the oil cools during this step; it will heat back up once returned to the oven.
- Roast undisturbed: Place the roasting tin back in the oven and roast the potatoes for 40 minutes without moving them. This allows for a crisp, golden crust to form.
- Turn potatoes: After 40 minutes, remove the tin and meticulously turn each potato to brown the other side. Return the potatoes to the oven for an additional 20 minutes to cook evenly.
- Final crisp: Turn the potatoes once more, and if possible, increase the oven temperature to 220°C (200°C fan/gas mark 7) for a final 20 minutes of roasting to develop a deeply golden, crunchy exterior and fluffy interior.
- Serve: Sprinkle the finished roast potatoes with a little sea salt and serve immediately for the best texture and flavor.
Notes
- Use Maris Piper potatoes for the best texture and flavor in roasting.
- Sunflower oil delivers a crunchier crust compared to traditional goose fat.
- Do not overcrowd the roasting tin; potatoes need space to crisp evenly.
- Salting the boiling water is essential for seasoning the potatoes internally.
- Cooling and drying the potatoes in the fridge before roasting helps achieve maximum crunchiness.
- Turning the potatoes carefully and periodically ensures even browning on all sides.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 1-2 days cooling time in fridge)
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: roast potatoes, crispy roast potatoes, Maris Piper, sunflower oil, British roast side dish
