Everyone loves a good roast potato. With their golden-brown crunchy exterior, mealy and satisfying insides and filling carby vibe, it’s easy to understand why. But what if I told you there was a way to make them even better? My Parmesan Roasted Potatoes provide all the above plus an extra burst of umami flavor with the addition of cheese.
Secrets of Great Roasted Potatoes
There’s a group of friends with whom I frequently cook together. Usually pot lucks, or sometimes we plan on a theme together and allocate dishes out in a more structured. Among these friends, I have a special nickname. They call me The Potato Queen. And while I cook many potato dishes, it’s my roasted potatoes that have earned me this accolade. I’m not one to brag, but I do think I have cracked the way to make the perfect roasted potato. With their unbelievably crunchy exterior, they are the perfect side dish to keep people coming back for more.
Here are my top secrets of how to make amazing roast potatoes. Firstly, don’t peel them. Not only the fiber but also a lot of the flavor is found in the skin. For that authentic earthy taste of genuine potatoes, leave the skin on.
Secondly, you need to boil your potatoes before roasting them. Many recipes will tell you to par-boil, but in my experience, you’ll end up with disappointing spuds if you do. The key to crunch is to roughen up the edges of your roast potatoes. This gives them more surface area to soak up the fat and get all those frilly edges that are so delicious. Cut your potatoes into more-or-less equally sized pieces and boil until completely tender. Then it is easier to roughen the edges.
Thirdly, make sure you DO roughen the edges. There are two different ways to do it. One is just to shake the potatoes around after draining. The other is to use the back of a fork or a potato masher to press gently on them, to half crush them. If you want plain roast potatoes, the first way is probably better. If you are adding extra flavor, as we are here, I prefer the second – then you get lots of little crevices to hold on to the extra ingredients.
Fourthly, don’t stint on the fat. You don’t need gallons of it, but you do want to have enough for the potatoes to soak it up at the edges and yield all that wonderful crunch. What type of fat you use is up to you. Goose or duck fat will give your potatoes a wonderful flavor, as does butter. I’m using butter here, with just a little olive oil added to stop it burning. If saturated fat content is a concern for you, just replace the butter with more olive oil. Your potatoes will not taste quite so rich but they will still be crispy and delicious.
What Type of Potatoes to Use?
The potatoes to use for parmesan roasted potatoes are waxy potatoes. This is because we’re using the crushing method to roughen up the edges. Floury potatoes will fall apart completely if you do this to them. If you can only find floury potatoes, though, you can still make the recipe. Just use the shaking method to roughen up the potato edges instead. I also prefer baby potatoes for this recipe.
Other than the potatoes and the fat, we’re just adding two more ingredients – the parmesan and a little granulated garlic.
How to Make Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
The only way in which parmesan roasted potatoes differ from plain roasted potatoes is in the addition of cheese. Because we’re having the oven quite hot, the parmesan will burn if you add it at the start. So the best way to do it is to get the potatoes nice and crisp in a hot oven, before adding the parmesan right at the end, for a flash of heat. Then grate over more at the table. The garlic is optional, but I do like the contrast it provides with the rice cheese.
Storage Notes
I always laugh when I read details about leftover roast potatoes because I have literally never had a single one left over at the end of a meal. And if you follow my recipe, I bet you won’t have any leftovers either. But in the unlikely case that you do, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat the following day. It’s best not to use the microwave for this because it will make them soggy. Warm a little olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry them until they crisp up again. They won’t be quite so crunchy as fresh out of the oven, but they’re still good.
More Potatoes?
If you’re looking for more potato dishes, check out one of these previous recipes:
- Purple Potato Salad with Bacon
- Sheet Pan Chicken and Potato Bake
- Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes
- Pumpkin Potato Latkes
Conclusion
If you’re looking for the perfect side dish to bring to your next pot luck, my Parmesan Roasted Potatoes is the one that will get everyone talking. Who knows, you might even get christened the Potato Queen (or King) yourself! Let me know in the comments how they turned out for you.
Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby potatoes
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 oz parmesan grated
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Halve the larger potatoes but leave the smaller ones whole. Place in a pan, cover with water and add a pinch of salt.
- Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes until tender. Drain.
- In a roasting pan, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the potatoes, toss to coat with the melted butter, and crush them lightly with a potato masher or a fork. Season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic.
- Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the parmesan, and shake the pan so the potatoes are evenly coated with the cheese.
- Return to the oven and roast for another 5 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Serve hot.
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