Roast potatoes are a staple facet dish that many Britons look ahead to with their Sunday roast, however they usually come out of the oven soggy quite than golden and crispy
Roast potatoes are a beloved facet dish that hundreds of thousands of Brits look ahead to with their Sunday roast, however they usually come out of the oven limp as an alternative of crispy and golden. What most individuals do not know is that attaining the proper crunch begins through the boiling stage — and it isn’t nearly throwing them in a pan of water.
Maria Koutsogiannis, founding father of Food by Maria, has revealed that the key to completely crispy roast potatoes is including a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the boiling water. She stated: “It has taken me years to try to determine this out, and I lastly discovered the trick to nailing that good potato consistency. My secret weapon for nailing that consistency? Boiling and baking soda.”
Bicarbonate of soda is mildly alkaline and raises the pH stage of the boiling water, which breaks down the starches on the skin of the potato.
This creates a rougher floor with extra edges, permitting more room for the oil to stick to throughout roasting.
The roast potatoes will flip a gorgeous golden brown within the oven, supplying you with a splendidly crisp and crunchy exterior, stories the Express.
Adding bicarbonate of soda to your potatoes is an old school however extremely easy trick that may utterly change your roast potatoes, whether or not you are making them for a weeknight dinner or getting forward for Christmas Day.
How to make crispier roast potatoes
Ingredients:
- Six medium russet potatoes
- One tablespoon of baking soda
- Three tablespoons of olive oil
- Three garlic cloves (grated)
- One tablespoon of butter
- One tablespoon of onion granules
- Three tablespoons of thyme
- Salt and pepper
Method:
Begin by filling a big pot with water and including one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda. The quantity of salt wanted will differ relying on the scale of your pot, however as a rule of thumb, you may want about one tablespoon per litre of water.
Place the pot on excessive warmth till it reaches boiling level, then add the potatoes and parboil them for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220C and line two trays with baking paper.
After the desired time, drain the potatoes and switch them to a big bowl. Add onion granules, grated garlic, oil, butter, and season evenly with salt and pepper.
Gently combine every part collectively till the roast potatoes are properly coated, then prepare them on the ready trays. It’s really useful to make use of two trays to make sure every potato has sufficient area and none overlap.
Position the potatoes cut-side down on the tray, then place them within the oven to bake for half-hour. Once the time is up, flip the potatoes over and sprinkle with thyme.
Bake the potatoes for a further 20 minutes. When they arrive out of the oven, they need to be considerably crispier and extra flavourful than every other home-cooked roast potatoes you’ve got beforehand made.

