Roast potatoes were voted the second most important thing in a roast following gravy, and are one of the most hotly-debated parts of a roast.
Families debate over who makes them best and what the best techniques are. Do you boil them first? Keep or remove the skins? How long do you cook them for?
Now, the debates can stop. We don’t need to figure out who makes the best spuds within our families because the answer is, of course, Michelin Star chef Gordon Ramsay.
Gordon Ramsay’s roast potato recipe
In Gordon’s recipe, there’s one ingredient that I’ve never used or even considered using for my spuds (and I make the best ones in my family): semolina.
Semolina is often used to make different forms of pasta and couscous but according to the chef’s recipe, just 2 tablespoons of it can make all the difference.
For Gordon’s roast potato recipe you’ll need:
- 1.2kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward
- 100g goose or duck fat (or olive oil)
- 2 tbsp semolina
- 2 garlic cloves
- Few rosemary sprigs
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
The recipe is featured on the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants website and while it is similar to the roast potato recipes that we all already hold close to our hearts, the semolina step is where the magic happens.
Once you’ve boiled and drained the potatoes, sprinkle over the semolina and give the spuds a good shake before putting them in the oven and cooking at 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6.
This is what will give them the crunch that we all seek when cooking roasties and while a bag isn’t very cheap — £1.50 for 500g at Waitrose — the recipe only calls for a little, so the bag should last a while!
My mouth is watering just thinking of them.