Amazing hasselback potatoes | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why do you soak potatoes before roasting? ›

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

In a video online, Gordon explained: “For crispy roast potatoes, you can depend on them, my tip is to parboil them, leave them to steam dry, then sprinkle them with semolina or flour, and then give them a good roughing up.”

Boiling your potatoes for a little bit before roasting helps make sure that you get that beautiful crisp crust on the outside. If you don't parboil your spuds, the outside skin will remain quite tough, meaning that whatever fat you use will not be able to get inside the cracks.

The main reasons to cut the potatoes and pre-soak in water are: To allow the excess starches and sugars to be removed from the outer surface of the fry strips AND to keep the potatoes from browning prematurely from exposure to air. Covering in water helps the potato from turning a dark color.

Go for larger chunks of potato so that the sides are bigger. This means more potato will be in contact with your pan or tray, giving it more direct heat to crunch up. The perfect roast potato has a balance of fluff in the middle and crispy exterior. Cut them too small and they're crunchy, but too hard.

Meanwhile, the alkaline water helps the exteriors of the potatoes break down more, creating much more of the starchy slurry that leads to an extra-crisp exterior. About a half teaspoon of baking soda for two quarts of water was the right amount.

You don't HAVE TO, but I can assure you that by soaking potatoes first , you will get perfectly crispy, roasted potatoes just like at your favorite restaurant. Make sure you drain and dry them well. For the soaking to have the desired effect of removing excess starch, you must drain them and dry them off after soaking.

Do I have to boil potatoes before roasting? Not necessary but this can help get the perfect consistency and crispiness. Make sure you boil them but leave them a bit al dente and they will crisp up perfectly in the oven.

They just won't stand up to an overnight soak, so don't do it. The larger the potato pieces, the longer they'll last in water. If you're prepping with smaller pieces, don't soak for more than 12 hours. This trick is handy, but it'll only work for about 24 hours — so don't prep too far in advance.

What is the best oil or fat for roast potatoes? ›

Overall, what is the best fat for roast potatoes? The team considered goose fat to yield the most flavoursome roasties. Despite the potatoes having a slightly oilier texture, the goose fat provided a satisfying savoury flavour which didn't overpower. Butter makes a good vegetarian alternative for golden brown tatties.

Rub with olive oil (oil also helps the skin go golden) and season with sea salt, then use a fork to pierce it six times, all around the potato. Place on a baking tray and bake for 1 hour to 1¼ hours, until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.