Mary Berry's ingredient works for any kind of potato(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

'I added one cheap ingredient to roast potatoes and they became crispier than ever'

Roast potatoes are essential for any roast dinner but they can often be a hassle to make. Culinary queen Mary Berry has shared a simple hack to make perfect roasties every time

by · The Mirror

Roast potatoes are a must-have for any proper Sunday roast, famed for their gloriously crispy skins.

And there's a game-changer in town to ensure our roast potatoes never let us down again - one straightforward ingredient we've all been missing out on. Culinary legend Mary Berry lets us in on her top-notch tip for achieving the perfect crunch - tossing your tatties in semolina flour, typically used for pasta and bread. In 'Love To Cook', the baker spills the beans: "Something a bit different to traditional roast potatoes. The added semolina gives the potatoes a crispy, crunchy outside and helps to hold them together." Katherine McPhillips, a reporter at the Express put her own twist on the recipe. "Taking Mary's advice for a spin, I popped some semolina on my spuds and, blimey, it's not just the texture that's turned up a notch, but the flavour's taken a lift too," she wrote.

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The reporter combined Mary's semolina tip with sweet potatoes for a new take on the roastie recipe( Image: (Image: Katherine McPhillips))

"Upon scrounging around online, it clicked why this trick is tops. Those little beauties are chock-full of moisture, and sprinkling semolina soaks up the excess, avoiding an unwelcome sogginess when they're roasted. Plus, with its high protein content, semolina revs up the browning, promising a potato that's perfectly crisp externally and deliciously fluffy internally. I fancied a personal twist and went for a sweet potato - and guess what, semolina's magic works wonders on any variety of the humble spud. You can even apply it to veggies, ensuring a satisfying crunch on every side dish in your roast dinner."

Here's how to whip up Mary Berry's crispier roast potatoes

What you'll need

  • Four tablespoons of sunflower oil
  • Two tablespoons of semolina
  • 700g of potatoes

Method

Reporter Katherine loved the 'nutty taste' of her finished roasties( Image: (Image: Katherine McPhillips))

Katherine writes:

  1. First off, I preheated my oven to 200C. However, if your oven is different, it's best to set the temperature to 220C for fan ovens or Mark 7 for gas ovens.
  2. Next, I put two tablespoons of oil into a cooking tray and popped the tray in the oven for about five minutes until it was piping hot and the oil was sizzling.
  3. I then roughly chopped the sweet potatoes into chunks, tossed them in a bowl with two tablespoons of oil and two tablespoons of semolina flour.
  4. Using a spoon, I mixed everything together to ensure the potatoes were evenly coated before popping them in the oven.
  5. The potatoes baked for around 20 minutes, and I waited until they were golden and crispy before removing them from the oven.
  6. Upon tasting, I found the potatoes were crispy yet still fluffy on the inside, so I highly recommend giving this method a go - it's a quick way to achieve perfect roast potatoes.
  7. I also found that adding semolina to the potatoes enhanced their flavour, giving them a slightly toasted nutty taste which was absolutely scrumptious.