Recipe: These crispy garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes always impress

These are, without question, my favourite roasted potatoes. Crunchy and deeply golden on the outside, unbelievably fluffy on the inside and packed with so much flavour that I could honestly eat a bowl of them and call it dinner. Every single time I make these, someone asks me for the recipe.

I wish I could say I came up with the technique myself, but I didn’t. I first stumbled across J. Kenji López-Alt’s Best Crispy Roast Potatoes Ever recipe on Serious Eats years ago. I’ve made some tweaks to suit the way I cook, and I’ve made them so many times now that I know the recipe by heart. The technique is brilliant, particularly the little bit of baking soda added to the cooking water.

And there’s actually some very cool science behind it. Baking soda makes the cooking water more alkaline, which helps break down the surface of the potatoes as they boil. When you later stir those softened potatoes around in the pot, that outer layer turns rough and almost mashed-potato-like. It may look like you’ve made a mess of them, but that mess is exactly what you want. All those rough, starchy little edges crisp up in the hot oven, creating that incredible crunchy exterior while the middle stays soft and fluffy.

I’m sharing these now because they would be fantastic for Thanksgiving. If you normally serve mashed potatoes with your turkey, make these instead. They can finish roasting while your turkey is resting and being carved, and they’re so flavourful you honestly don’t even need gravy. I prefer yellow or Yukon Gold potatoes because they’re less starchy than Russets and give you that lovely creamy centre while still getting beautifully crisp.

Ingredients

2.2 lbs. (1 kg) yellow or Yukon Gold potatoes

8 cups (2 litres) cold water

1½ tbsp. coarse salt

1½ tsp. baking soda

8 tbsp. (½ cup) olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1½ tbsp. fresh or dried rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, or dried parsley in a pinch

Instructions

Peel the potatoes and cut each one into approximately 6 large pieces.

Add the cold water, coarse salt and baking soda to a large pot. Add the potatoes and bring everything to a boil. Continue boiling for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 450º Fahrenheit.

To make the aromatic oil, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add the minced garlic and rosemary, and gently stir until fragrant and lightly golden. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.

Remove the oil from the heat and allow it to cool slightly. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic and rosemary and set them aside. Do not throw away either the garlic mixture or the oil. We’re using both, just at different times. Keeping the garlic out of the oven prevents it from burning during that long, hot roast.