Roast potatoes are the ultimate comfort food side dish, whether served alongside pork chops on a weeknight or as part of a weekend roast. While making homemade roast potatoes is straightforward, they can turn out soft, soggy, and greasy without the right ingredients.
Potatoes are naturally high in water content, which converts to steam as they cook in the oven. If this moisture remains on the skin, the oil cannot crisp them up properly. However, Lindsay, a cook and creator of The Tasteful Pantry, has revealed a remarkably simple way to guarantee potatoes that are "crunchy every time without fail" — simply season them with semolina.
Lindsay explained: "Semolina adds a gentle grainy texture that crisps up beautifully in the oven, giving the kind of crunch that ordinary roast potatoes rarely achieve. It's the perfect trick if you've ever struggled to get that ideal roast — crispy exterior, tender interior, and just enough spice to keep things interesting."
What Is Semolina and Why Does It Work?
Semolina is a flour typically used to make pasta, bread, or pizza dough, but it is also widely used when roasting fish and potatoes, as it is renowned for producing a perfectly crispy skin. Its notably coarse texture works brilliantly on potatoes, and its highly absorbent nature draws out significant moisture from the skin. This helps keep the potatoes as dry as possible during cooking, preventing steaming and ensuring they cook more effectively in the oil. Using semolina stops the potatoes from turning soggy and will start to toast in the oven, giving you a perfectly caramelised skin with plenty of crispy edges.
How to Make Crispier Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1kg of potatoes
- 120ml of oil
- Two tablespoons of semolina
- One teaspoon of salt
- Half a teaspoon of garlic powder
- Half a teaspoon of onion powder
- Half a teaspoon of oregano
- Half a teaspoon of paprika
- A quarter teaspoon of pepper
Any oil of your choosing works well for roast potatoes, though your best bet is one with a high smoke point, such as sunflower, vegetable, or rapeseed oil. Alternatively, it is perfectly fine to use other fats such as duck fat, goose fat, or beef dripping.
Method
- Start by preheating the oven to 210°C, and make sure you have a deep roasting dish large enough to hold all the potatoes in a single layer.
- Pour the oil into the deep dish and place it in the oven for 10 minutes. It is essential that the oil is piping hot before adding the potatoes, as this forms a crust and achieves a crispier finish.
- Meanwhile, peel and halve the potatoes. Place them in a large pot of water and bring to the boil. Allow them to cook for approximately 10 minutes until they are fork-tender but still firm in the centre.
- Drain the potatoes, then return them to the empty pot. Keep them off the heat, and instead use a fork or tongs to gently toss the potatoes around. This roughens up the surface slightly, creating more edges once they go into the oven, and helps achieve a wonderfully crunchy skin.
- Next, combine the semolina, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle the semolina mixture over the potatoes, then give the pot a good shake to make sure they are thoroughly coated.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, then carefully add the potatoes. Using a pair of tongs, turn the potatoes so that every side is covered in oil, then tip any leftover seasoning from the pot into the dish.
- Roast the potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes, then flip them over and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, the potatoes should be sizzling, deep golden brown, and with a really satisfying crispy skin.
