The roast potato. God’s gift to the Sunday roast, the crunchiest little morsels of happiness.

I’m renowned for making the best roast potatoes, so I always have to perform at Christmas and there’s no room for error. So these are my tips and tricks for the fluffiest, cronchiest, most delish roast potatoes in the world. That’s how confident I feel about my roasties. 

As you all know, I’m a Maris Piper girly because they are the ultimate all-rounder but I occasionally change it up to a King Eddy if I’m feeling fancy. I’ve never tried to make roasties in America, but I am reliably informed that a Yukon Gold is the best choice. But feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. 

You want to use a variety that isn’t waxy as they won’t crisp up the same because they can’t make the fluffy edges. We’re all about the fluff here.

How to

Steam drying your spuds is one of the most important steps in making the best roast potatoes. This extra step that only takes 10 minutes and no extra effort on your part means that the water can evaporate from the hot potatoes and the starch can begin to dry out, so when you give them a little shake in the pan it can really fluff up.

Boiling your potatoes in heavily salted water is the best way to go, but if you want to get creative with it, chuck in a stock cube or fresh herbs and some smashed cloves of garlic, just make sure you remove any herbs/garlic before popping the potatoes into the oven otherwise they’ll burn.

The important bits

It is completely up to you what you want to cook your tatties in, and it can change depending on what you’re serving them with. Beef roast dinner? Plenty of beef dripping, ideally from the bottom of the roasting tray. Christmas? It has to be goose fat for me. If I’m just doing roasties for a normal weeknight or Sunday roast I generally prefer to use vegetable oil and flavour the potatties when boiling with a stock pot. The only thing to remember is that the fat needs to be HOT! I always start the oven at 220ºc/430ºf and make sure the fat goes into the oven in a roasting tray when the potatoes come out of the pan to steam. I think you always need a bit more fat than you think you need, but don’t overdo it otherwise you’ll smoke your whole kitchen out and no one wants that at Christmas. 

I do genuinely believe that the best roasties only need vegetable oil and salt – THAT IS IT.

STOP FUSSING OVER YOUR SPUDS

You don’t need to flip your roasties every 2 seconds bab! They need time to become the golden little nuggets of joy we all know and love. After about 20-25 minutes of cooking time you can give them a good toss and a shake in the tray, then turn the oven down to 180ºc/350ºf and give them a bit longer but don’t be tempted to fuss, this gives you plenty of time to crack on with carving your beef, pouring a big glass of Pinot, whatever you fancy. 

Leftovers? What are those?

If you somehow have a few roasties left that no one can force down, don’t even dare throw them away. They’ll go a bit soggy when they’re put in the fridge but throwing them in a hot oven with a little drizzle of oil will revive them a bit. Make up a super simple tomato sauce with onion, garlic, balsamic vinegar, tinned tomatoes and tomato puree then chop up your spuds and toss the sauce all over. Serve with a fried egg for a delish brunch dish next time you have the girls over for Proseccy. Or if you’re like me, a voddy red bull. Yes, even at brunch. 

Roasties are for life, not just for Christmas

Make roasties the star of your next summery garden party. I LOVE a lemony roast tattie, or my white wine and shallot spuds are also incredible served with roast chicken and greens. No matter the weather, it is always appropriate to have a roast dinner.

Got 99 problems but my spuds aint 1

If you happen to take your eye off your potatoes for a minute and they’re a bit overboiled, don’t panic! A little bit of falling apart is okay as that’ll give you the extra crispy bits in the bottom of the tray (chefs perk, always), however if you go too far then you have one option – you can continue to boil them and make mashed potatoes. Unfortunately if they do go to mush there’s no going back, so just get them started again.

One thing you can sort out is if your oil isn’t hot enough. This could be if your oven wasn’t fully preheated before putting in the oil or just not getting it in there soon enough. If your potatoes are cooked through but not coloured as much as you’d like them to be, get a frying pan over a high heat with a good glug of vegetable oil. You can pan fry off the potatoes to finish them off, but this can make them a bit on the greasy side!

Find my classic roast potatoes recipe here.