Exclusive:
With so many different roast potato recipes out there, it can be hard to know which are any good. Mirror writer Niamh Kirk decided to try out Jamie Oliver’s ‘best ever’ roastie recipe ahead of Christmas Day
A Christmas dinner simply isn’t complete without crispy roast potatoes, and everyone has their own tips and tricks for achieving that all-important crunch.
They are the perfect accompaniment to any roast, but making them perfect golden can be seriously tough. There’s nothing worse than soggy spuds, they will seriously undermine your festive feast.
Every year celebrity chefs reveal their top secret tricks for the perfect roasties to help home cooks before the big day. And this year, I decided to give Jamie Oliver’s ‘best ever’ roast potato recipe a go to see if it’s the winner for December 25th.
While I can’t say I am much of a cook, this recipe was rated as “super easy” which sounded more on my skill level, and it didn’t have an extensive ingredient list either, happy days! Here’s how I got on…
When trying this recipe, I quickly realised that there’s a few simple additions that really make your roasties stand out – who knew sage and crushed garlic cloves made such a big impact? To start off with, you’ll need:
- 2.5kg medium Maris Piper potatoes
- 4 tablespoons goose fat or unsalted butter (I went with goose fat)
- Olive oil
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 1/2 bunch fresh sage (15g)
Armed with my ingredients, I got to work. Firstly, I peeled the potatoes, washed them and then shook them in the colander to fluff them up. In a surprising tip, Jamie reccomends keeping your spuds whole, which isn’t my usual style. But I stayed on task, adding them to a roasting dish with four table spoons of goose fat and a table spoon of olive oil.
The advice from the recipe was to “spread out in one fairly snug, even layer but with small gaps between them.” I gave them a mix around to coat in the goose fat and olive oil and then sprinkled with a generous amount of salt and black pepper. You need to then cover and leave them in the fridge overnight.
When it then came to cooking them the next day, I preheated my oven to 180C. I then peeled and crushed the whole garlic clove and placed them in the dish. According to the recipe: “This gives you sweet, caramelised garlic and adds a gentle perfume to the potatoes.”
Then I placed in the oven for an hour (or until the potatoes are crisp and golden all over.) Once cooked, I removed the tray from the oven, but we’re not done yet – and this is where the magic happens. The recipe calls it “one last application of love and care” and dubbed this step a “game-changer”. At this stage, I found the potatoes were a little too big to get that tasty crunch, so if you prefer smaller roasties, this would be the best time to halve them.
By this point my kitchen smelt absolutely divine, and it was making me extremely hungry. I gently half squashed each potato with a potato masher (or you can use a fish slice) so they kind of push into eachother and full the tray. Make sure you are delicate with this as you don’t want to mash them completely. Then I picked some sage leaves and tossed them with a bit of oil. This helps transfer the flavour and make them crisp.
I sprinkled the sage over the potatoes and popped back into the oven for 20 minutes to really crisp them up. They smelt delicious, and I know they will be a show-stopper on my Christmas dinner table this year. I found the recipe extremely easy, and for a novice cook like me, it certainly is straight forward.
The only annoying part is that you need to put them in the fridge overnight, but if you are one of those people who likes to prepare the Christmas dinner the day before – this is perfect. Eitherway Jamie Oliver’s recipe was spot on they are truly delicious and I am sure my family will be convinced I bought them. Happy cooking!
Do you have a story to share? Email Niamh.Kirk@reachplc.com
