If you want extra crispy roast potatoes, this simple roast potato recipe from chef Poppy O’Toole is well worth trying.
No Sunday dinner is complete without roast potatoes.(Image: Getty)
Most people would agree that the best part of a roast dinner is a perfectly crispy roast potato. Fluffy on the inside yet satisfyingly crunchy on the outside, it’s no wonder they are so popular — and nothing quite hits the spot when the craving strikes.
However, any home cook will tell you that achieving the perfect roastie is no easy task, despite the minimal number of ingredients involved. Mastering the texture can be particularly challenging, especially when it comes to nailing that all-important crunch.
Fortunately, a chef and potato expert has revealed her ‘glorious’ roast potato method that guarantees maximum crunchiness — and it all comes down to a single straightforward coating.
Poppy O’Toole, widely known as the Potato Queen, has built her reputation on her outstanding spud recipes. Having spent years honing her craft and sharing her expertise, she undoubtedly makes roast potatoes her speciality.
Her ‘expert level’ roastie recipe promises to be the best you will ever taste. Writing on her blog, she said: “These aren’t your casual Sunday spuds or your midweek ‘that’ll do’ potatoes because these are special-occasion roasties, the kind you make when you want to seriously impress.
“Yes, they take more time and more effort, but every golden, crispy, beef-fat-coated bite is 100% worth it.”
Her ‘secret weapon’ for ‘next-level crispiness’ is a simple coating of seasoned rice flour. Sprinkled over the potatoes once they have steam-dried, it guarantees an irresistibly crunchy and flavoursome result every single time.
Here is everything you need to recreate this recipe
Roast potato recipe
Ingredients
- Four to six large Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and sliced into equal chunks
- One chicken or vegetable stock cube
- A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary
- 1/2 brown onion
- 1/2 bulb garlic
- 100g beef fat/dripping
- Two tbsp rice flour
- Tsp garlic granules
- Tsp onion granules
- Salt
Method
Place all of the potatoes into a large saucepan filled with cold water. Season generously with salt and add the stock pot, fresh garlic and onion, thyme and rosemary.
Set the hob to high and bring to the boil, then cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/400F. Once the potatoes have softened, remove the garlic, onion and herbs.
Drain through a colander and return it to sit over the pan, then cover with a clean tea towel and allow to steam-dry for 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the beef fat onto a baking tray and place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes while the potatoes steam. Take a wire rack and gently arrange the potatoes in a single layer.
Combine the rice flour, garlic granules, onion granules and a generous pinch of salt. Using a sieve, dust a fine layer of the rice flour mixture over the potatoes, rotating them to ensure all sides are covered.
Gently transfer all of the potatoes into the hot beef fat and turn to coat thoroughly.
Roast for 30 minutes, then give the tray a shake and flip the potatoes over. Continue roasting for a further 30 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
