Roast potatoes are many people’s favourite part of a roast dinner, and they can be cooked in several ways to make them crispy.
Mary’s recipe calls for four ingredients with the potatoes ready to serve in around an hour from start to finish.
The notes said: “A roast potato should be ultra crispy and golden on the outside with a fluffy light middle.
“Par-boiling and roughing them up before roasting gives a lovely crunchy exterior and the semolina adds an extra crunchy coating.
The chef’s recipe will serve six people and can be made up to 12 hours ahead of serving.
Ingredients:
1.5kg old potatoes, peeled and cut into medium-sized cubes
40g semolina
Four tablespoons of goose fat or vegetable oil
Three thyme sprigs
Salt to season, optional
Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 220C or 200C Fan before putting the potatoes in a saucepan of cold salted water.
Bring them to a boil and boil for around five minutes, until starting to soften around the edges.
Drain them in a colander until completely dry, then put them back into the saucepan and shake to roughen up the edges.
Sprinkle in the semolina and shake again until fully coated. Preheat a large shallow roasting tin in the oven until hot before adding the fat to the tin and heating for five minutes.
Carefully add the potatoes, turning them in the fat until coated and scatter over the thyme sprigs.
Return them to the oven and roast them for around 45 to 55 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Mary recommended turning the potatoes halfway through the cooking time to make sure they cook evenly before serving.
The recipe notes said: “You can prepare the potatoes up to 12 hours ahead of serving.
“The potatoes can be part-roasted for 35 minutes until golden. Then, before serving, roast again in the hot oven for about 20 minutes.”
Britons can also use vegetable oil to roast the potatoes in, although goose fat will provide the best results.
