Cheap store cupboard ingredient that takes your roast potatoes to the next level

12 December 2023 , 17:03

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You can level up your roast potatoes with one simple ingredient (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Roast potatoes are the staple to any Sunday roast dinner and now you can level up your roasties with one cheap ingredient to make them even better than ever.

As some people lather them in goose fat and others shake them to fluff them up, there are many ways to cook your delicious roast potatoes.

Expert foodie and Asda's Senior Innovation Chef, Rich Harding has shared his fool-proof way to make sure your roasties are always top-notch - and there's one simple ingredient. He revealed that the ultimate secret ingredient is a pinch of flour and salt in the water.

He also stressed it's important to choose the right type of potatoes too, as he told The Mail. "Make sure you're using the correct potato, a fluffy variety like Maris Piper and King Edward is best. Par boil the potatoes from cold salted water, then cook them until they are more than half cooked but not quite mashable."

He then advised when draining the potatoes to use a fork to "fluff up the edges" and that will help create the "desired crispiness" we all long for. Rich also added that it's "essential" to add in a tablespoon of "flour of semolina" to help with the crispiness.

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"This is also a good time to add flaked sea salt or even Asda's new Cook by Asda Roast Potato Seasoning. Then get the oven tray with your choice of fat screaming hot, I start my oven off at around 230C. Options like goose fat and duck fat are great for flavour, but vegetable oil or sunflower oil are absolutely fine as long as they are really hot."

After 15 minutes he suggested turning the oven down to 180C and turning them every five minutes until you're happy with the colour and crispiness. For other ways to maximize your potatoes, Rich shared some further secret ingredients. He said: "You could also par boil the potatoes in vegetable or chicken stock, for added flavour. If you're roasting your potatoes in vegetable or sunflower oil, I like to add a good knob of butter for the last ten minutes or so. You could also add a tablespoon of Marmite to the tray and toss the potatoes in it once melted."

Niamh Kirk