Perfect Roast Potatoes.
So I thought it would be helpful to drop myself a note on how to make perfect roast potatoes.
To be clear, for me the meaning of the word “perfect” with regards to roast potatoes is that they are perfectly crunchy and crisp. Often this is referred to as a glass-like crunch.
There are two key objectives to keep in mind when preparing the potatoes:
- Reducing starch content — this reduces the overall carbohydrate content of the potatoes, and will also prevent over-browning
- Maximizing surface area — this will ensure that the ratio of surface crunch to internal fluffiness is higher.
And so, here are the steps:
- Peel the potatoes. It is better to use a knife instead of a peeler because this will naturally create more angles in the potatoes.
- Boil the potatoes. Do this for longer than you think is necessary, and stop when you see that the potatoes are falling apart. You don’t need to cut the potatoes before this step. You can add rosemary in the water to add flavor.
- Take the potatoes out carefully and put them in the freezer, and then take them out and cut them into smaller pieces. Don’t throw the rosemary away as we will use it when roasting.
- Put the potatoes in a closed box or pan and shake them around. This will mess up the edges which will crisp up perfectly.
- Add olive oil and black pepper to the potatoes. Don’t add salt, this will come at the end. Salt draws water out of the center of the potatoes and will reduce the crunch. Add the rosemary you used earlier and you can also add some fresh rosemary as well.
- Roast the potatoes in a hot oven, for about 30 minutes longer than you think is necessary. 20-30 minutes before the end, throw crushed garlic in, and you can optional throw some lemon juice in as well.
- Once the potatoes look super crunchy, remove them and let them cool down, and add salt as required.
Enjoy.
