I Tried the Roasted Potato Recipe That Crashed Ina Garten’s Website (2024)

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Recipe Review

Christine Gallary

Christine GallaryFood Editor-at-Large

Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram.

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updated May 20, 2022

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When Ina Garten first posted about actress Emily Blunt’s English Roasted Potatoes from her cookbook Modern Comfort Food so many people tried to access the recipe that it crashed Ina’s website. And no wonder — the recipe promised crispy, browned potatoes with creamy insides, and it only required three ingredients (in addition to two kinds of salt).

Comfort foods have been on heavy rotation in my house, and potatoes have been consistently popular —plus, I’m always game for cooking an Ina Garten recipe. So I got to work immediately (I already had the ingredients on hand).

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At first glance, the recipe looks like most roasted potato recipes: Toss chunks of boiled potatoes in oil and roast in a hot oven. But there are a few noticeable departures. The first is peeling and cutting the Yukon Gold potatoes into pretty large pieces (about 2 inches in diameter) before boiling them in salted water. I love that the recipe calls for adding two tablespoons kosher salt to the water (potatoes need a lot of seasoning), but I wish it specified how much water to add it to. I guessed and used three quarts, which I ultimately felt was too much.

After boiling the potatoes for the specified eight minutes, I tasted one: It was tender and just starting to fall apart around the edges. Then came the fun part: I placed the drained potatoes back into the pot, slapped on a lid, and shook the potatoes around to rough up the edges, creating more surface area for browning and crispiness.

After shaking, I transferred the potatoes to a rack set over a baking sheet to cool off and dry out a little. The potatoes finally went onto a rimmed baking sheet that had been preheated with a lot of vegetable oil, then into the oven until browned and crisp. The recipe said it would take 45 minutes to an hour and advised turning the potatoes occasionally as they roasted. Mine took the full hour to get golden-brown and crisp on multiple sides. To finish, I showered the potatoes with 2 teaspoons crunchy, coarse salt and minced parsley.

Emily’s Potatoes Are Crispy, Creamy, and Seasoned to Perfection. But Are They Worth the Trouble?

I brought the potatoes to the table and my daughter’s eyes immediately lit up. She spooned a bunch onto her plate, gobbled them up even though they were piping hot, declared them good, and asked for more. My husband and I agreed: They were most definitely crispy with creamy, tender insides, seasoned with a good amount of crunchy salt. They almost tasted deep-fried.

With that said, I did feel like they were a tad greasy. A half cup of oil is a lot for a single baking sheet of potatoes, and there were still some small pools of oil on it even after roasting. I also felt the vegetable oil didn’t contribute a lot of flavor, and would have preferred olive oil or a more flavorful fat instead.

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There’s no denying these potatoes were delicious, but I kept thinking about the mountain of dishes I accumulated in making them: two baking sheets, a knife, a vegetable peeler, a cutting board, a pot with a lid, a wire rack, a colander, a bench scraper to move the potatoes around, and tongs. I honestly felt I could have gotten similar results with Kitchn’s crash potato recipe with half the amount of dishwashing in the end. Still, like most Ina recipes, this recipe delivers exactly what it promises.

If You’re Making Emily’s English Potatoes at Home, a Few Tips

If you want to try these roasted potatoes at home yourself, here are a few tips I recommend.

1. Boil the potatoes in 2 quarts water. I used 3 quarts of water, but recommend 2 quarts instead so that there’s a higher concentration of salt to water to season the potatoes.

2. Use olive oil. Instead of vegetable oil, use olive oil or another flavorful fat for more flavor in the finished potatoes. While the recipe calls for 1/2 cup oil, 1/3 cup might be enough.

3. Use a bench scraper to transfer the potatoes. Since you have to transfer the potatoes into hot oil on the baking sheet, the recipe recommends using a large metal spatula. I found a metal bench scraper perfect for scooping up lots of potatoes from the rack, and it was easy to gently push them from the scraper into the oil and toss them around.

4. Wait to turn the potatoes. The recipe is unclear on when to turn the potatoes, so I recommend waiting until the bottoms are starting to brown before flipping them with tongs. I flipped them 30 and 45 minutes into the roasting time.

5. Season the roasted potatoes on the baking sheet. The recipe calls for transferring the roasted potatoes onto a serving platter before sprinkling with finishing salt, but because they’re piled up, you’ll get an uneven seasoning. I recommend sprinkling 2 teaspoons onto the potatoes while they’re still on the baking sheet.

Your turn:Have you tried making Emily Blunt’s English roasted potatoes at home? Let us know in the comments!

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I Tried the Roasted Potato Recipe That Crashed Ina Garten’s Website (2024)

FAQs

Should you boil potatoes before roasting? ›

Boil chunks of potato until they're just tender, toss them none-too-gently with fat (ideally beef drippings) to rough up their surface, then roast them until they're crisp and crackling. The boiling and roughing-up steps are the real keys.

Are roasted potatoes healthy? ›

The risk of cholesterol, heart attack and stroke can be reduced by the consumption of roasted potatoes. The Vitamin B6 and fiber present in roasted potatoes help to improve metabolism. The increased weight can be easily reduced back to a normal level by including roasted potatoes in the diet.

Why are my oven roasted potatoes soggy? ›

Roasted potatoes can become soggy if the water content in the potato isn't fully cooked. Different potatoes have different water content percentages. Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy.

Why are my roast potatoes tough? ›

If you roast them at too high a temperature, you risk browning the outsides before the insides are cooked through. Cook them for too long at a lower temp, though, and they may dry out (telltale signs: leathery, tough) on their way to Tender Town.

What happens if you don't soak potatoes before roasting? ›

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.

What oil is best for cooking roast potatoes? ›

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 very hot to achieve maximum crispiness.

Are roasted potatoes good for blood pressure? ›

According to Macrobiotic nutritionists and health practitioner Shilpa Arora says, "high potassium food items should be encouraged for high BP. Potatoes, beets, carrots, oranges and bananas are excellent food choices." Potassium negates ill effects of sodium, by eliminating sodium through your urine.

Why do I feel better after eating potatoes? ›

You've probably noticed that you feel calmer and more content after digging into a yummy baked potato or plate of home fries. And researchers may have figured out why: Potatoes boast rich stores of tryptophan and potassium — nutrients your brain and digestive tract use to produce the mood-steadying hormone serotonin.

Are roasted potatoes bad for high cholesterol? ›

The humble potato is a starchy veggie that is equally delicious as it is good for you. Along with the boost of carbohydrates that potatoes provide, each serving fuels your body with soluble fiber, a nutrient that can reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream.

How do you're crisp roasted potatoes? ›

Heat your oven to 400 degrees, spread potatoes on a sheet pan and cover them in tin foil. Re-roast them until they're warm all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover for another five to add crispiness.

What are best potatoes for roasting? ›

While all sorts of potatoes are delicious when roasted in the oven, Yukon Gold potatoes are arguably the best potatoes for roasting for many reasons. Yukon Gold potatoes have the perfect amount of starch, which means they soften well in the oven, while their partially waxy texture helps them maintain their shape.

How do you keep roasted potatoes crispy? ›

Keep potatoes crisp in a warm oven if you're serving them in 1-2 hours. If there is a slight wait before everyone eats, don't cover the crispy potatoes—this traps steam which will make the potatoes soggy. Just keep them in the oven, but turn the temperature to the lowest setting.

Why can't I get my roast potatoes crispy? ›

Parboiling the potatoes is a good start, but if they're not getting crispy during roasting your temperature isn't high enough or there's too much moisture.

Can you put too much oil in roast potatoes? ›

'Though we all love a crispy roast potato, it can be really easy to mess them up,' said Jeff. 'If you drown them in too much oil, they'll burn on the outside and be undercooked on the inside. ' He recommends par-boiling your spuds then fluffing them up before roasting for best results.

Should I dry potatoes before roasting? ›

To have a truly marvellous roast potato, one must simply let the potato dry completely after parboiling, before roasting in extremely hot fat. If you have two ovens you can cook them separately to your roast at a different temperature.

Is it better to parboil potatoes before roasting? ›

Parboil the Potatoes First

Parboiling helps soften the potato insides before the roasting begins, so you won't be tempted to burn the outsides in exchange for less undercooked insides. Boil the potato chunks for eight to 10 minutes—they won't be fully cooked, but they'll be ready for the next step.

What happens if you don't boil potatoes before roasting? ›

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.

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.

Do you put potatoes in before or after the water starts boiling? ›

For most potato dishes it's important to add the potatoes to cold water and allow the water to come to a boil with the potatoes in the water. The potato starch can react as soon as it comes in contact with hot water, which will promote uneven cooking and mealy potatoes.

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