Rosemary roast potatoes

Name: Rosemary roast potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 6-8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 3kg floury potatoes (maris piper or king edward); 1 tsp fine salt, plus extra to season; 4 tbsp goose fat or veg oil; 1 tbsp sea salt flakes; 3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked

Portion size: Serves 6-8
Prep time 30 min. Oven time 55 min
Difficulty: easy

Emily Gussin

Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

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Roast potatoes are secretly everyone’s favourite part of Christmas dinner. Regardless of how tender your turkey is or how many trimmings and sauces it comes with, if your roasties don’t hit the mark, there’ll be disgruntled elves all around the table. Thankfully, this rosemary roast potatoes recipe is failsafe, foolproof and fantastically flavourful.

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Before you start

Why they’re the best roast potatoes
A good wash: As you peel and chop your potatoes, putting them in a large bowl of water doesn’t just stop them discolouring – it helps wash off some of their starch. Starch is the enemy of crispiness, so by giving them a good swish around in the water, draining them, then cooking them in fresh water, you’ll get crisper roasties.

Softly simmered: Some roast potato recipes call for you to boil them until they’re almost falling apart – we find this provides rough edges, but a lot of your potatoes turn to mush and become waterlogged, which stops them crisping up. You just want to gently simmer them enough so their outsides are soft enough to rough up – the centres will steam into fluffy deliciousness in the oven.

Out to dry: Throw wet spuds into hot fat and you’ll not only be diving for cover as the oil splutters – you’ll have a harder time crisping up your potatoes. Leave them to steam-dry after simmering them (ideally on a wire rack) to ensure they’re as dry as possible before they hit the roasting tin.

Choose your fat: Our two favourite fats for roasties are goose fat or vegetable oil – both have a high smoke point which is key, as you want to get them as hot as possible before they touch the potatoes (cold oil will be absorbed by the spuds rather than crisping up the outside). Which one you choose is down to preference (or whether there are vegetarians at the table) – goose fat provides a richer, almost creamier spud, while vegetable oil offers maximum crispness.

Salt – then salt again: Potatoes can take (and need) a fair bit of salting, and using both fine and flaky ensures an even seasoning with little pops of crunch throughout. Whizzing some with rosemary gives you an instant flavour boost, while seasoning throughout the process – in the water, when they first go in the oven, at the end of roasting and then a final sprinkle before serving – builds layers of saltiness without becoming overpowering.

Make ahead: You can parboil and steam dry the potatoes, then keep them chilled in the fridge (covered) for up to 3 days before cooking.

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Ingredients

3kg floury potatoes (maris piper or king edward)
1 tsp fine salt, plus extra to season
4 tbsp goose fat or veg oil
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
3 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked

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Method

Heat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C fan/gas 7 and put a large baking tray in to heat up. Half-fill a large pan with water. Cut the spuds into 5-6cm chunks, putting them in the water as you go. Use your hands to swish the potatoes around in the water, then drain. Return to the pan, cover with fresh water, then season with a generous pinch of salt. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and leave to steam-dry (in the colander or, ideally, spaced out on a wire rack) for at least 5 minutes. Add the goose fat or oil to the hot baking tray and return to the oven to heat through.
Meanwhile, pulse the 1 tbsp salt flakes, 1 tsp fine salt and rosemary in a food processor to a chunky crumb. (The flakes add extra little pops of saltiness.)
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Tip the potatoes into the pan you par-boiled them in, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, put the lid on and shake to fluff up the edges. Carefully tip into the tray of hot fat and use a spatula to turn them until coated in the fat. Roast for 50 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and golden all over.
Remove from the oven and scatter over most of the rosemary salt, turning so they’re coated all over. Roast for 5 minutes more. Season with the remaining salt as soon as you remove them from the oven.