If you’ve ever struggled to get that perfect roast potato with a crunchy exterior and tender interior, this simple ingredient will crisp them up properly – it’s super easy
Roast potatoes can soften and come out greasy if you do not know how to cook them(Image: Getty)
Roast potatoes are the ultimate comfort food side dish, whether you’re pairing them with pork chops on a weeknight or serving them up as part of a classic Sunday roast. Although making them from scratch is relatively simple, they can turn out soft, soggy, and greasy if you don’t use the right ingredients.
Potatoes naturally contain a significant amount of water, which turns to steam during cooking, and if this moisture remains on the surface, the oil simply cannot crisp them up properly. However, cook and food creator Lindsay of The Tasteful Pantry has shared a wonderfully straightforward technique to ensure potatoes are “crunchy every time without fail” — all you need to do is coat them in semolina.
Lindsay explained: “Semolina adds a gentle grainy texture that crisps up beautifully in the oven, giving the kind of crunch that ordinary roast potatoes rarely achieve.
“It’s the perfect trick if you’ve ever struggled to get that ideal roast – crispy exterior, tender interior, and just enough spice to keep things interesting.”
Semolina is a flour commonly used in the making of pasta, bread, and pizza dough, but it is also widely used when roasting fish and potatoes, thanks to its reputation for producing a perfectly crispy exterior, reports Wales Online.
Its notably coarse consistency means it works exceptionally well with potatoes, and its highly absorbent nature allows it to draw out excess moisture from the surface with ease. Ensuring the potatoes remain as dry as possible while cooking in the oven stops them from steaming, which allows them to crisp up more successfully in the oil.
Adding semolina not only prevents the potatoes from becoming soggy, but it also starts to toast during baking, creating a beautifully caramelised outside with delightfully crunchy edges.
You will need:
While any oil works well for roast potatoes, those with a high smoke point, like sunflower, vegetable, or rapeseed oil, generally produce the best outcomes. Options such as duck fat, goose fat or beef drippings work just as well.
Method:
Start by heating your oven to 210C, making sure you have a deep roasting tin large enough to fit all the potatoes in one layer.
Add your selected oil to the deep tin and place it in the oven for 10 minutes. It’s essential that the oil gets very hot before adding the potatoes, as this creates a crust and gives a crispier result.
In the meantime, peel and cut the potatoes in half. Put them in a large saucepan of water and bring to a boil. Let them cook for roughly 10 minutes until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, but still slightly firm in the middle.
Drain the potatoes completely, then put them back in the empty saucepan. Without adding any heat, use a fork or tongs to carefully shake the potatoes about. This technique lightly roughens the potato surfaces, creating additional edges that, once in the oven, deliver an incredibly crispy outer layer.
In a small bowl, mix together the semolina, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika and pepper. Dust the semolina blend over the potatoes, then shake the pot to ensure even coating.
Take the baking dish out of the oven, then carefully place the potatoes into it. Use tongs to turn each potato so all surfaces are coated in oil, then pour any remaining seasoning from the pot into the dish.
Pop the potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes, then turn them over and cook for another 10 minutes.
Once you take the potatoes out of the oven, they should be sizzling away, sporting a rich golden-brown colour and featuring a delightfully crispy exterior.
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