If you’re looking for the perfect accompaniment to a Sunday dinner, these cornflour roast potatoes are for you. With this secret ingredient and our step by step guide, you can achieve the best results and serve up restaurant quality crispy roasted potatoes with a fluffy interior.
No Roast dinner would be the same without a great side dish of perfect roast potatoes. Whether you’re having roast chicken, slow cooker roast beef, Nut Roast, Turkey En Croute for those special occasions like Christmas Dinner, or even a meal that isn’t a roast like this Squash and Leek Quiche, these potatoes will wow the family and keep everyone coming back for a second helping or even a third! You can also serve a generous helping of Homemade Cranberry Sauce with dried cranberries on the side.
There are a few steps that are essential in creating the best crispy roast potatoes, which involves not only choosing the perfect potato and the best oil but preparing a hot oven, allowing the potatoes to steam dry and cool to room temperature before coating them with a generous layer of cornflour and roasting to perfection.
Then, once your potatoes have turned golden brown with crispy outsides, we give them plenty of extra flavour with our ground rosemary salt before serving up to friends and family.
Why You’ll Love This Cornflour Roast Potatoes Recipe
- Surprisingly Easy – It’s super easy to create the best potatoes to serve up with your main meal.
- Prepped In Advance – The prepping can be done in the morning. Boil the potatoes and allow them to dry and remove the excess moisture. You can then give them a good shake in corn flour and roast them when you’re ready.
- The Crispiest Potatoes – This recipe results in the softest potatoes with a crunchy exterior, just the way roast potatoes should be!
Equipment Needed
- Oven: You’ll need an oven to roast the potatoes, so make sure it’s preheated to 190°C (375°F).
- Large Roasting Tin: Use the largest roasting tin you have to roast the potatoes. It should be large enough to hold all the potato chunks in a single layer and allow space between. If you only have a smaller roasting pan, choose to use more than one.
- Large Bowl: A large bowl is essential for soaking the potatoes in water and lemon juice, which helps remove excess starch and avoid discolouration.
- Saucepan: You’ll need a large saucepan to briefly parboil the potato chunks before roasting.
- Colander: A colander is used for draining the parboiled potatoes and letting them steam-dry.
- Pestle and Mortar: This is used for grinding the dried rosemary and flaky sea salt to create the rosemary seasoning for the potatoes.
- Peeler and Chopping Tools: You’ll require tools for peeling and chopping the potatoes to your desired size.
Ingredients
- Potatoes – The main ingredient is of course, potatoes but choosing the right type of potato makes all the difference. We recommend going for one that is of the floury kind and not waxy potatoes. Some of the best varieties are Maris Piper, King Edward, Russet Potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Lemon Juice – This might seem like a strange ingredient for roast potatoes, but it’s essential. Adding lemon juice to the water when you parboil the potatoes helps them to avoid discolouration.
- Duck Fat or Goose Fat – These types of cooking fat give the roasted potatoes a rich flavour. They also have a high smoke point, meaning that you can cook the potatoes at a high temperature without them developing any rancid flavours or getting the oven too smoky.
- Cornflour/Corn starch- Depending on where in the world you are, you will find this ingredient labelled either name. This is our key ingredient in creating that signature crunchy crust.
- Dried Rosemary – We create a herb salt with this ingredient to season our potatoes after they have finished roasting.
- Flaky Sea Salt – Try choosing a salt like Maldon sea salt or similar to grind with the rosemary leaves and create a delicious seasoning to compliment our roast potato recipe.
Additions and Substitutions
Substitutions:
- Olive Oil: If you prefer the flavour of olive oil or want to make these Vegan roast potatoes instead, it can replace duck or goose fat for a distinct taste. Just keep the temperature of the oven a little lower as olive oil has a lower smoke point than the fat we use.
- Sunflower Oil: In place of duck or goose fat, you can use sunflower oil for a lighter or vegetarian alternative.
- Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is another suitable substitute for duck or goose fat.
- Fresh Herbs: If you prefer using fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or parsley you’ll need to add a little more as dried herbs tend to be more concentrated in flavour. Chop them finely and add during the seasoning step.
Additions:
- Black Pepper: Sprinkle a little black pepper once you have seasoned with the rosemary salt for added depth to your seasoning mix.
- Garlic Granules/Garlic Powder: For a garlicky touch, add in garlic granules or garlic powder to the seasoning. Use it sparingly to avoid overpowering the dish.
- Parmesan Cheese: To add a cheesy element, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the potatoes during the last few minutes of roasting.
- Chili Flakes: If you like a bit of heat, sprinkle some chili flakes over the potatoes before serving.
- Lemon Zest: For a zesty kick, add some lemon zest to the seasoning mix.
- Paprika: Smoked paprika can add a delightful smoky flavour to the potatoes.
- Onion Powder: A sprinkle of onion powder can contribute a mild onion flavour to the dish.
- Cayenne Pepper: If you enjoy spiciness, a pinch of cayenne pepper can give your potatoes a kick.
- Fresh Parsley: For a pretty dish, sprinkle over some chopped fresh parsley leaves before serving.
Feel free to mix and match these substitutions and additions to tailor the dish to your preferences.
Step-By-Step How To Make Cornflour Roast Potatoes
Step 1: Preheat Oven
- Set the oven to 190°C (375°F) to preheat.
Step 2: Peeling and Chopping Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and chop them to your desired size, ensuring similar sizes.
- Rinse them under cold running water to remove excess surface starch.
Step 3: Soaking Potatoes
- Place the potato chunks in a large bowl, covering them with cold water.
- Add a pinch of salt and lemon juice and let them soak for at least 30 minutes.
Step 4: Rinsing and Boiling
- Rinse the potatoes well under cold running water.
- Transfer them to a large saucepan and cover them with cold water, adding a generous pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 5: Steam-Drying Potatoes
- Remove the potatoes from heat and drain them in a colander.
- Allow them to steam-dry for at least 30 minutes or until they cool to room temperature.
Step 6: Warming Duck or Goose Fat
- Place the duck or goose fat in a large baking tray and warm it up in the hot oven.
Step 7: Coating Potatoes with Cornflour
- Pour the cornflour over the potatoes and shake them to coat them completely, roughening their edges.
Step 8: Roasting Potatoes
- Carefully remove the baking tray with the hot fat from the oven and slowly tip the potatoes in, watching for oil splashes.
- Quickly coat the potatoes in the hot fat and spread them into a single layer. Return them to the oven.
Step 9: Roasting and Turning Potatoes
- Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, turning them 2-3 times during this time to ensure even browning.
Step 10: Preparing Rosemary Seasoning
- Grind dried rosemary and flaky sea salt together with a pestle and mortar to create the rosemary seasoning.
Step 11: Finishing and Serving
- Remove the potatoes from the oven, drain the fat, and let them sit for 5 minutes.
- Season them generously with the rosemary salt before serving.
FAQ
It’s best to use floury potatoes like Maris Piper or King Edward for that perfect fluffy interior and crispy exterior.
Soaking and rinsing help remove excess starch from the potato surfaces, resulting in a crisper texture when roasted. Starchy potatoes will be soft and soggy.
Roast the potatoes until they’re golden brown with a crispy crust. Turning them 2-3 times during roasting ensures even browning.
Pro Tips and Guidance
- Choose the Right Potatoes: Choose floury potatoes like Maris Piper or King Edward. These varieties have a fluffy texture on the inside, ideal for achieving a crisp exterior.
- Soak and Rinse: Soaking the potato slices in cold water and rinsing them helps remove excess starch. This step contributes to a crispier finish.
- Steam Dry Thoroughly: After boiling the potatoes, let them steam dry in a colander for at least 30 minutes to remove the excess moisture and cool down. This step ensures you don’t end up with soggy potatoes as a result.
- Cornflour Coating: The cornflour creates a wonderfully crisp crust. Ensure the potatoes are evenly coated; this is key to achieving that satisfying crunch.
- Give Them A Good Shake: When coating the potatoes, be sure to give them a good shake to rough the edges up a bit, this gives the best crunchy roast potatoes.
- Hot Oil or Fat: The duck or goose fat should be sizzling hot when you add the potatoes. Be cautious when adding them to prevent splattering.
- Turn Them Over: During roasting, turn the potatoes 2-3 times. This promotes even browning and a consistent crunch on all sides.
- Rest Before Serving: After roasting, let the potatoes rest for a few minutes. This allows the excess fat to drain, leaving you with delightfully crispy potatoes.
- Keep an Eye on Them: While roasting, monitor the potatoes closely. They should be golden brown and have a crispy crust. Timing may vary depending on your oven, so don’t rely solely on the clock.
Storage
Storage: Store any leftover roast potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They can be stored for up to 2-3 days. Ensure they are completely cooled before refrigeration.
Reheating: To reheat the duck/goose fat potatoes, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). Place them on a baking sheet and heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until they’re hot and crispy again. You can also use a microwave, but this may result in a loss of crispiness.
Freezing: Once roasted, these potatoes are not suitable for freezing. The texture will significantly change upon thawing and reheating, resulting in a less desirable dish.
Freezing after Boiling: However, if you wish to meal prep and prepare these in advance, you can freeze them after parboiling and allowing them to dry and cool fully and adding the cornflour. Lay them in a single layer to freeze completely before storing in the freezer in your chose container to avoid the potatoes sticking together. They will last around 2 months.
Roasting From Frozen: If you have chosen to freeze the part prepared potatoes, do so from frozen and allow a little more time in the oven.
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The Best Crispy Crunchy Cornflour Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 kg Floury Potatoes
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 4 tbsp Duck or goose fat
- 20 g Cornflour
- 1 tbsp Dried Rosemary
- 1 tsp Flaky Sea Salt
Instructions
- Set the oven to 190°C (375°F) to preheat.
- Peel the potatoes and chop them to your desired size, try to keep all sizes similar to each other. Rinse them under cold running water to remove excess starch from the surfaces.
- Place the potato chunks in a large bowl, covering them with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Rinse the potatoes well under cold running water, then transfer them to a large saucepan. Cover them with cold water and add a generous pinch of salt.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the potatoes from heat and drain them in a colander. Let them steam-dry for at least 30 minutes or until they're cool to room temperature.
- Place the duck or goose fat in a large baking tray and put it in the hot oven to warm up.
- Pour the cornflour in with the potatoes and shake them to coat completely and roughen their edges.
- Carefully remove the baking tray with the hot fat from the oven and slowly tip the potatoes in, watching out for oil splashes
- Quickly coat the potatoes in the hot fat and spread them out into a single layer. Return them to the oven.
- Roast the potatoes for 40 minutes, turning them 2-3 times during this time to ensure even browning.
- Prepare the rosemary seasoning by grinding the dried rosemary and flaky sea salt with a pestle and mortar.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven, drain the fat, and let them sit for 5 minutes.
- Season generously with the rosemary salt before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Potato Choice: Use floury potatoes like Maris Piper or King Edward for the perfect fluffy interior and crispy exterior.
- Soak and Rinse: Soaking and rinsing potato slices removes excess starch, ensuring a crunchier result.
- Steam Dry: After boiling, let potatoes steam dry for at least 30 minutes to remove moisture and prevent sogginess.
- Cornflour Coating: Evenly coat potatoes with cornflour for a satisfying crunch.
- Shake It Up: Shake the potatoes after coating to roughen the edges, creating the best crunch.
- Hot Fat: Add potatoes to sizzling hot duck or goose fat, but be cautious of splattering.
- Turn for Even Browning: Turn the potatoes 2-3 times during roasting for consistent browning and crunch on all sides.
- Rest for Crispiness: After roasting, let the potatoes rest briefly to drain excess fat, leaving you with crispy perfection.
- Watch Closely: Keep a close eye on roasting, ensuring a golden brown finish with a crispy crust. Ovens may vary, so use visual cues alongside the timer.
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Hi Steve, Thanks for visiting! I am looking forward to popping over to your blog later this evening when the boys have gone to bed :) Thank you for linking back to me here too and I hope you enjoy my recipes :) x