Planning on making roast potatoes this Christmas? Learn my secrets for crunchy, golden and crispy roast potatoes with rosemary, sage and garlic.
There are few simple pleasures in life that are better than crispy roast potatoes.
My Irish heritage, and the fact I was born the day before St Patrick’s day probably pre-disposed me to a love of potatoes.
I know it’s not something people like to admit these days, in this low-carb, one diet fad after another world. But I adore potatoes. Potato salad. Potato Chips. But Roast Potatoes. Really GOOD crispy roast potatoes that are wonderfully golden and crunchy on the outside are my Achilles heel.
Thankfully my husband shares my love of roast potatoes so I never need to find an excuse to make them.
Everyone has their tips on how to make the roast potatoes. Here are some of my tips for the best crispy roast potatoes:
- Make sure you use roasting potatoes. It sounds obvious, but some potatoes are better for roasting than others. My favourites are Sebago but ask your market stall holder or green grocer for what is the best available at the moment.
- When picking potatoes go for potatoes that are still coated in dirt. Prewashed potatoes never seem to crisp up as much when roasted. I think this is because they absorb a bit of water, during the washing process, making it more difficult to get them crispy on the outside.
- Precook your potatoes in plenty of salted boiling water. Just like your pasta cooking water, the water you are going to cook your potatoes in should taste like the sea. Cooking them in salted water now helps the potatoes absorb the salt and season them all the way through. Simply seasoning the outside when you are roasting will only do that – season the outside, not the middle. So cook them in well-salted water.
- Once your potatoes are tender drain in a fine mesh sieve or colander and leave them for 10 to 20 minutes or so to steam dry. Don’t skip this step as it helps ensure a crispy roast potato exterior.
Serve my crispy roast potatoes alongside my vegan mushroom wellington this Christmas and you’re sure to have your guests coming back for more!
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Crispy Roast Potatoes
Golden and crispy roast potatoes are the best part of any roast dinner. Here I've used rosemary, sage and garlic, but you can just as easily leave the herbs out if you don't have them and they'll still be delicious!
Ingredients
- 700 g roasting potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 1 tbs sage finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste (I use 1/2 tsp of each)
Instructions
Peel your potatoes and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place in a saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.
Drain and leave to cool for 10 to 20 minutes. This process allows the outside of the potato to dry helping them get extra crispy and crunchy during roasting. DON'T SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU WANT CRISPY ROAST POTATOES!
Preheat the oven to 200 celsius (400 Fahrenheit) and place the potatoes in a roasting dish. Toss the potatoes in the oil, rosemary, sage, garlic and salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes, turning every 10 minutes to ensure they become evenly golden and crispy.
Sprinkle with a little extra sea salt and freshly chopped rosemary and serve immediately.
Just a gorgeous recipe! Roasted potatoes are a favorite at our house, and these look fabulous. Oh, and I adore your video!
These are SOOOOO good! I might have used the wrong kind of potatoes (Russets) or boiled them a bit too long because mine fell apart a bit. But I tossed everything with the oil and spices anyway, and all of those semi-mashed bits turned into golden crunchy delicious awesomeness. My house smelled so good. Next, I’m going to try pouring the oil/spice blend over Hasselbeck style potatoes. *drool*
Advice for anyone making these: double the recipe. Trust. Oh, and I used a scant teaspoon each of dried sage and dried rosemary since I didn’t have any fresh and that worked fine.
Such a great post! My family loves crispy roast potatoes but I rarely make them as I find they always stick to the pan 🙁 I’ve tried all different kinds of pans and oils to no avail. The only one that ever works is my mum’s stoneware pan (and I don’t have one myself). It’s so annoying when you see the potatoes all golden brown and crispy, then you try to move them and all that delicious crispy layer stays welded to the pan.
I’ll give your recipe a try and see if I have better luck!
Merry Christmas ❤️ xx
Thinking of taking your suggestion for Christmas dinner. If serving with the mushroom wellington-do you just put both in at 390 or at 400 degrees? Thanks!
I’d do them both at 400 Molly. I hope you enjoy them both 😀 Let me know how it goes.
They look gorgeous! So crispy and delightfully herby.
Cheers,
Rosa