7 Delicious Ways to Make Your Sunday Roast Potatoes Even Better

Well, here comes autumn.

It’s pouring down outside, it’s still dark at 7am and I’m already tempted — only tempted, so far — to flick the heating on.

I am NOT relenting until October at least. Not after last year’s fuel bill.

Anyway, I digress.

Today I’m looking at the bargain leg of lamb I scooped up from the yellow-label section and getting rather excited about my first proper roast dinner of the season.

I don’t normally fork out for lamb because, frankly, it’s become so expensive. But since I managed to grab a bargain, I’m going all out: red wine gravy, Parmesan-crusted cauliflower cheese, cloud-like Yorkshire puddings, some kind of green vegetable — although who really cares about that bit? — and, of course…

Roasties.

The mainstay of any proper British roast dinner and, surely, everybody’s favourite thing on the plate.

Today I’m going with garlic and rosemary roast potatoes because I’m cooking lamb, but I have different roastie recipes that I pull out depending on what meat I’m serving. Marmite, mustard, Parmesan, garlic butter — there are plenty of ways to take the humble roast potato somewhere a little more interesting without messing with what makes a great roastie great in the first place.

So, before you oil up the roasting tin this Sunday, I thought I’d share seven of my favourite roast potato variations — including what I serve them with and, most importantly, how to get them properly crisp on the outside and gloriously fluffy in the middle.

First, Let’s Get the Roast Potato Basics Right

Before we start messing around with Marmite, mustard, Parmesan or garlic, there are a few things I do with every single batch of roast potatoes.

First: always parboil your potatoes.

I tend to use Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes because you want something floury enough to give you that fluffy middle. Peel them, cut larger potatoes into evenly sized chunks and get them into a pan of well-salted cold water.

Bring to the boil and simmer for around 8–10 minutes. You’re not trying to cook them completely — you just want the outsides beginning to soften.

Drain them really well and leave them to steam dry for a few minutes.

Then comes the important bit.

Sprinkle over a little plain flour — around a tablespoon for a kilo of potatoes is plenty — put the lid back on the pan and give the whole lot a good shake.

Don’t be gentle.

You actually want to bash the edges up. The flour catches on all those fluffy, roughed-up bits and they become the wonderfully crunchy little pieces that everybody picks off the roasting tin.

Those are the best bits.

Meanwhile, your roasting fat should already be heating in the oven. Whether we’re using goose fat, beef dripping or oil will depend on the recipe, but the principle remains the same: cold potatoes should never go into cold fat.

You want a proper sizzle when they hit the roasting tin.

Turn them carefully to coat, spread them out so they have plenty of room and roast at around 200°C fan/220°C conventional until deeply golden and crisp, usually around 50–60 minutes depending on their size.

Turn them a couple of times while they’re cooking.

That’s our basic roastie. Now let’s play with it.

1. Classic Goose Fat Roast Potatoes

Sometimes you really don’t need to improve on a classic.

If I’m making a traditional Sunday roast — and particularly at Christmas — goose fat roast potatoes are very hard to beat. It gives them an incredibly crisp, deeply golden shell without overpowering everything else on the plate.

You’ll need

For approximately 4–6 people:

1kg Maris Piper or King Edward potatoes
3–4 tablespoons goose fat
1 tablespoon plain flour
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Prepare and parboil your potatoes using the basic method above.

While they’re drying, put the goose fat into a large roasting tin and heat it in the oven for around 10 minutes.

Dust the potatoes with flour, rough them up properly and carefully tip them into the sizzling goose fat.

Turn each potato so it’s coated in fat, season generously and roast for 50–60 minutes, turning a couple of times, until deeply golden and crunchy.

What I’d serve them with

These are your all-rounders.

Roast beef, chicken, turkey, pork or lamb — they’ll happily sit alongside any of them. And if I’m doing Christmas dinner, I’m not experimenting. Goose fat roasties are going on the table.

2. Garlic and Rosemary Roast Potatoes

These are the ones I’m making today.

Rosemary and lamb are such an obvious pairing that there seemed little point fighting it, and plenty of garlic is never going to make the situation worse.

The trick is not adding chopped garlic right at the beginning. An hour in a hot oven can turn those lovely little pieces into bitter black specks.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3–4 tablespoons olive oil or goose fat
1 tablespoon plain flour
4 garlic cloves
3–4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Parboil, drain, steam dry, flour and rough up the potatoes as usual.

Get your fat hot, add the potatoes and roast for around 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly crush the garlic cloves with the side of a knife — I leave the skins on — and tear the rosemary into smaller sprigs.

Turn the potatoes, add the garlic and rosemary to the tin and toss everything through the hot fat.

Return to the oven for another 25–30 minutes, until beautifully crisp.

Finish with a generous sprinkle of sea salt.

What I’d serve them with

Lamb. Absolutely lamb.

They’re also gorgeous with roast chicken, but rosemary, garlic, lamb and red wine gravy is exactly where my head is today.

3. Parmesan and Thyme Roast Potatoes

Now we’re getting slightly more decadent.

Parmesan creates this salty, savoury crust over the rough edges of the potatoes, while thyme gives them enough freshness to stop the whole thing becoming too rich.

Again, timing matters. Parmesan doesn’t need an hour in a blazing-hot oven.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
50g finely grated Parmesan
4–5 sprigs fresh thyme
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Prepare the potatoes as usual, toss them into hot oil and roast for around 35–40 minutes, turning at least once.

Strip the leaves from the thyme.

When the potatoes are already beginning to colour, scatter over the Parmesan and thyme and gently turn them so that cheesy coating catches on all those rough edges.

Roast for another 15–20 minutes until crisp, golden and covered in little Parmesan crusts.

Go easy on the salt until you’ve tasted one — Parmesan is already salty.

What I’d serve them with

These are fantastic with roast chicken, but I’d also serve them alongside a good steak or even make them the star of a meat-free Sunday lunch.

They’re also dangerous straight from the roasting tin.

4. Mustard Roast Potatoes

I love these with beef.

Mustard works brilliantly with the richness of a roast and adds a lovely savoury sharpness without turning your potatoes into something unrecognisable.

You can use Dijon, English mustard or wholegrain. I particularly like wholegrain because you get those little mustard seeds clinging to the crispy edges.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3 tablespoons vegetable or rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
1½ tablespoons wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon Dijon or English mustard
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Parboil and rough up your potatoes with flour as usual.

Roast them in the hot oil for around 30–35 minutes.

Mix the mustards together with a spoonful of hot oil from the roasting tin to loosen them slightly.

Take the potatoes out, turn them and spoon the mustard mixture over them. Toss carefully so you get a little mustard across most of the potatoes rather than completely smothering them.

Roast for another 20–25 minutes until crisp and golden.

What I’d serve them with

Roast beef is the obvious answer, particularly if there’s a proper beef gravy and Yorkshire pudding involved.

They’re also excellent with sausages — essentially turning bangers and mash territory into bangers and roasties, which I see absolutely nothing wrong with.

5. Garlic Butter Roast Potatoes

There are roast potatoes and then there are potatoes that have spent their final few minutes being basted in garlic butter.

These are not remotely restrained.

Butter alone isn’t my first choice for roasting potatoes from the beginning because it can burn. Instead, get the potatoes beautifully crisp in oil first and introduce the garlic butter towards the end.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
40g butter
3 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
Small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Prepare your potatoes and roast them in hot oil for around 40–45 minutes, turning occasionally, until they’re almost done.

Melt the butter gently and stir in the garlic.

Pour the garlic butter over the potatoes, turn them to coat and return them to the oven for another 10–15 minutes.

Scatter with fresh parsley and sea salt just before serving.

What I’d serve them with

I’d go for roast chicken here, although these work brilliantly with steak too.

In fact, forget the meat. Give me a bowl of these, some gravy and the remote control.

6. Marmite Roast Potatoes

Stay with me.

If you’re firmly in the Marmite-hating camp, I realise I’ve probably already lost you. But even if you wouldn’t dream of spreading it on toast, there is an argument for giving Marmite roast potatoes a chance.

We’re not trying to make the potatoes taste overwhelmingly of Marmite. A relatively small amount adds a deep, salty, savoury umami flavour and helps create a gorgeous dark crust.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3 tablespoons vegetable or rapeseed oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
1–1½ teaspoons Marmite
Sea salt, if needed
Black pepper

Method

Parboil your potatoes as usual.

Before roughing them up, mix the Marmite with a tablespoon or two of hot water until it’s loose enough to coat the potatoes.

Add it to the drained potatoes along with the flour, put the lid on and shake.

The potatoes might look slightly alarming at this stage. Have faith.

Transfer them to your preheated oil, turn to coat and roast for 50–60 minutes, turning occasionally, until dark golden and properly crunchy.

Taste before adding extra salt. Marmite has already done plenty of work in that department.

What I’d serve them with

These are crying out for roast beef and a rich gravy.

They’re also very good with sausages or anything where you’d normally reach for a deeply savoury gravy.

And yes, I fully appreciate these will divide the Sunday dinner table.

7. Lemon, Garlic and Oregano Roast Potatoes

Finally, we’re leaving Britain for a minute.

These Greek-inspired roast potatoes are fresher, sharper and completely different from the other six. They’re particularly useful when you want roast potatoes but don’t necessarily want a traditional brown-gravy Sunday dinner.

The lemon goes in later so we keep those potatoes crisp rather than having them sitting in liquid for the entire cooking time.

You’ll need

1kg floury potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon plain flour
3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

Parboil, dry, flour and rough up your potatoes.

Roast in hot olive oil for around 35 minutes.

Turn them, then add the garlic and oregano and return to the oven for another 15 minutes.

For the final 5–10 minutes, add the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, tossing everything together before returning the tin to the oven.

Finish with a little more oregano and sea salt.

What I’d serve them with

They’re gorgeous with roast chicken, but obviously lamb works beautifully too.

I’d happily serve these with grilled meat, feta, a big Greek salad and tzatziki when I want roast potatoes without the full Sunday-roast situation.

Which Fat Makes the Best Roast Potatoes?

This depends partly on what you’re cooking.

Goose fat gives you fabulously crisp, rich roast potatoes and is difficult to beat for a traditional roast.

Beef dripping brings even more savoury flavour and is particularly good alongside roast beef.

Vegetable or rapeseed oil is inexpensive, neutral and gets properly hot, making either a very useful everyday choice.

And olive oil brings flavour of its own, so I particularly like it for rosemary, garlic and Mediterranean-style roasties.

Whatever you use, the most important thing is getting it hot before the potatoes go in.

My Roast Potato Rules

After all seven recipes, it really comes down to a handful of things.

Use a floury potato. Parboil it. Let it steam dry. Add a little flour. Bash those edges about. Get your fat screaming hot. Don’t overcrowd the roasting tin. Turn the potatoes while they’re cooking and think about when you’re adding your flavourings rather than chucking everything in at the beginning.

And please don’t serve me a pale roast potato.

I want them deeply golden, audibly crunchy and fluffy enough inside to soak up an indecent amount of gravy.

As for today’s batch, the rosemary is ready, the lamb is waiting and I’m still refusing to put the heating on.

Ask me again by lunchtime.

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