Amazing hasselback potatoes | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my potatoes not getting crispy in the oven? ›

An overcrowded pan will turn a sauna into a steam bath; Your potatoes will cook, but they'll be soft, moist, and bland like steamed potatoes. Even if you're tempted to save dishes by throwing a mound of potatoes onto one baking sheet, parsing them out over two will give them the space they need to crisp up.

These tips are completely doable, actually pretty much fail-proof. SOAK your potato chunks in cold water. This removes some of the starch and helps get them super duper crispy. Soak them at least one hour.

You don't NEED to, though if you want nice crispy potatoes with fluffy insides, par-boil cut potatoes for ten mins or so, drain in a colander and then shake well to break up the surface. Put into very hot oil and roast until cooked.

You want to use an oil with a mild flavour for your roasties. We prefer olive oil, but you can opt for vegetable, canola or grapeseed oils instead.

If the potatoes are raw, when you use a high temperature, the outside of the potatoes will burn before the inside cooks. That's why the parboiling is really important! Now these potatoes are my "basic" ones with my usual go-to seasoning.

Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get hotter without imparting off flavors.

Make sure you let your potatoes sit in the colander for a bit to steam dry before putting them in the oven.

The acid in the vinegar can also help to slightly break down the surface of the potatoes, aiding in the development of a crispier texture during frying. Additionally, the vinegar can contribute to a golden-brown color on the exterior of the fries.

The key to the crispy, crunchy exterior is in the method for their recipe: shaking the boiled and drained potatoes roughly until the outsides break off and begin to form basically a “potato paste” on the outsides. For my recipe, I add potato flour and cornstarch to encourage an even crispier-crunchier crust.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

What happens if you don't soak potatoes in water? ›

"Placing [peeled and cut] potatoes in water helps prevent oxidation, which turns their exposed flesh brown," says Ronna Welsh, the author of The Nimble Cook and the owner and chef instructor at Purple Kale Kitchenworks in Brooklyn, N.Y. While oxidation won't make the potatoes unsafe to eat, it does change their flavor.

If there is one person who knows about crispy and indulgent potatoes, it has to be the king of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" Guy Fieri. To make the most flavorful baked spuds, the chef recommends soaking whole potatoes in brine, a solution of water, salt, and sometimes sugar and other seasonings, for up to six hours.

Parboil them in a pan of boiling salted water for 15 minutes – this will ensure that the insides become really fluffy. 2. Drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 2 minutes – this will help the fat to stick to the potatoes.