For roast potatoes, it’s best to use old, starchy potatoes. They’ve got more starch: crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. New potatoes work too, but they tend to stay denser.
This is the simple version: you cut, you season, and straight into the oven.
Quick info
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Servings: 2 generous servings
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Total time: about 1 hour
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Prep: 10 min
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Cook: 50 min
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Tools:
- baking pan
- knife
- spatula or turner
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Notes:
- Don’t overlap the potatoes: they need to sit in a single layer.
- Better to turn them with a spatula, not a fork, which breaks them up.
Ingredients
- 600g (21.2 oz) starchy potatoes
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (2 for seasoning, 2 halfway through cooking)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 unpeeled garlic cloves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon fine salt (adjust to your taste: you can add more at the end of cooking)
- ¾ teaspoon pink peppercorns
Method
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Preheat the oven to 200°C (392°F) conventional (180°C/356°F convection).
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Wash and dry the 600g (21.2 oz) of potatoes. If the skin looks good, you can leave it on. Cut them into fairly even wedges:
- medium potatoes → into 4
- large potatoes → into 6
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Season them in the pan: put the potatoes in the baking pan and add:
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- the rosemary
- ¾ teaspoon of salt
- ¾ teaspoon of pink peppercorns, crushed between your fingers as you sprinkle them
Mix well with your hands so every potato gets coated in oil, then pour 3 tablespoons of water into the pan.
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Bake in the middle of the oven for about 45 minutes.
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Turn the potatoes with a spatula, baste them with the cooking juices, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Move the pan to the top of the oven, raise the temperature to 220°C (428°F), and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.
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If you want extra crispiness, finish under the broiler (grill): raise the temperature to 250°C (482°F), turn on the broiler, and leave for 5–6 minutes, until deep golden brown.
Comments & questions