Rosemary Roast Potatoes

rosemary infused roast potatoes in a baking dish on a white marble background

4.85 from 20 votes

Crunchy, fluffy roast potatoes par boiled with fresh rosemary and roasted in olive oil. Just 4 ingredients, with three easy ways to make them ahead.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 30

Total Time1 45

Course: Christmas, Side Dish

Cuisine: British

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: people

Author: James Wythe

Equipment

Ingredients

2 kg maris piper potatoes peeled, halved or quartered if large
5 tbsp olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary (can swap for thyme)
Salt

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Firstly, preheat your oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7), then peel and chop your potatoes.
Now place the potatoes into a large pot of water with 4 sprigs of rosemary and a few pinches of salt and bring to a boil
Par boil the potatoes for 12 minutes, until a knife meets a little resistance (see the top tips in the notes below).
Now pour 2 to 3 tbsp of olive oil into a large baking dish or tray and place in the oven to get very hot ready for the potatoes.
Drain the potatoes, removing just the rosemary stems (keep as many of the leaves as possible), and place the potatoes back into the pot you boiled them in. Place the lid on and give them a couple of firm shakes. This helps to break them up and get nice and crunchy.
Remove the baking dish from the oven, place the potatoes inside (you should hear them sizzling from the hot oil)
Drizzle a good few glugs of olive oil over the potatoes, making sure each is covered evenly, along with a good few pinches of salt, and place in the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven, turn the potatoes so they cook evenly and place back in the oven for 45 minutes or until they're golden and crispy

Video

Notes

Top Tips:

Don't over boil the potatoes. A trick I use to test is poke with a sharp knife. You want there to be a little restriction whilst going through the potato. If the knife slides through too easily they're over boiled and if you can't slide the knife through they aren't ready.
Make sure the oil in the baking dish is nice and hot. This means it will sizzle when you add the potatoes and helps them to go crispy.
Ideally you want to give the potatoes space to roast, this actually speeds up the process. BUT we all know the oven gets totally rammed on big days like Christmas so you can roast them like I have in the photos. They will still go crispy and taste great.
Try to cut them into equal sized pieces so they roast evenly in the oven.
Don't be tempted to skip roughing up the potatoes. This is the secret to crunchy potatoes as this step creates the best surface for the potatoes to crisp up as a crust can form. Be sure to take a look at my step by step photos, you want the outside of the potatoes to have a bit of a mashed potato look to it.

Cooking in advance:

Stage 1, after peeling and chopping: simply place in a large bowl, cover with cold water and place in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Stage 2, after par boiling: drain, allow to cool completely and then place in a large bowl, cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 days. Then follow the cooking instructions as normal on the day.
Stage 3, after roasting: allow to cool, cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in a hot oven for 20 to 30 minutes on the day, until steaming hot all the way through.

If you want to prepare even further in advance you can freeze them after stage 2 or stage 3, for up to 3 months. Simply allow to defrost in the fridge and either roast for the full 90 minutes if stage 2, or reheat for 20 to 30 minutes until steaming hot if stage 3.

Nutrition