Proper Roasties

Ever since we've been involved in the Christmas meal prep/service, I've had this recipe to rely on to ensure our roasties are crispy and delicious. This is one of those where the extra effort goes a long way, to create fluffy but crispy potatoes.

Perfect on their own (with something to dip them in) or perfect with a roast.

Ingredients

• 1kg potatoes
• 150g semolina
• 2tsp kosher salt
• 1tsp fine pepper
• 1 jar goose fat (or beef dripping)

Method

1. Peel and slice the potatoes into even quarters. They need to be about the size of a small tomato each
2. Par-boil them until they're still firm but will allow the outside to be fluffed up in texture when shaken. They need to be on the firm side so they don't fall apart when you toss them in the semolina
3. Air dry the potatoes by leaving them on a clean tray after draining them. Ideally on some kitchen roll to absorb any excess water
4. Prepare the semolina mixture by adding the salt and pepper and mixing
5. When the potatoes are cool, toss them in the semolina until fully coated
6. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C and add the fat to get up to temperature
7. Add the potatoes to the fat one-by-one, ensuring no additional semolina clouds up the hot fat
8. Immediately turn the potatoes in the fat to ensure they're fully coated with hot fat
9. Cook for 20 minutes and then check on them. Keep turning every 10 minutes to ensure all sides are evenly crispy
10. They're cooked when the complete exterior is golden-brown
11. Finish with some Maldon salt, and try to resist eating them until the rest of the meal is ready

Notes

You can prepare the potatoes ahead of cooking and vacuum seal them after the semolina coating. They must be air dried before doing this to ensure no excess moisture is sealed into the bag, which will stop them from crisping up properly.

If using the beef dripping, go easier on the measures as it can be a lot richer than the goose fat depending on where you get it from.

The turning part is a bit of an effort, but it's worth it to ensure you have an even exterior to the potatoes. No one wants a soggy side.

Inspiration

This was entirely stolen from Nigella. The only slight tweak I made was increasing the amount of semolina and heavily seasoning that mix after the par-boil. This forms a much thicker, salted crust.