Arguably roast potatoes can make or break a roast dinner. There isn't a single Sunday dinner person who decides to skip out on the potatoes, they are a staple.
Whilst the vegetables may be pushed around, nobody will leave roast potatoes on their plates and will be scoffing them down right after the meat. So, the most important part of the roast must be perfectly crisp and crunchy - as nobody wants soggy potatoes in a roast.
It's even worse if the potatoes come out brick-hard and undercooked, watching Sunday roast dinner guests chomp away on undercooked potatoes is not a great experience for them or you. However, the former Great British Bake Off judge has the perfect top to give your roast potatoes "extra crunch."
Whilst it doesn't take much to elevate the starchy staples, in her cookbook 'Love to Cook', Mary Berry shared that her method for making parsnips is to add semolina to give them a "lovely crispy outside" but this trick is multi-functional and works for roasties as well the Express reports. She wrote: "With the addition of semolina, these golden parsnips become extra crisp in the oven. Throw some in with your roast potatoes for something a bit different this Sunday."
Semolina is a pale-yellow-gold type of flour made from durum wheat. It can absorb moisture and oil while the potatoes are cooking.
Happy Valley's James Norton teases Tommy's 'deep hatred' in final seriesThis helps make the surface of the potato skin drier while also creating a thin layer of oil around the potatoes, which helps it become even more delicious.
The semolina coating will also prevent your roasties from sticking to your over tray allowing them to cook evenly until they are golden and fluffy. On the BBC website, the legendary baker said: "A roast potato should be ultra crispy and golden on the outside with a fluffy light middle. Par-boiling and roughing them up before roasting gives a lovely crunchy exterior and the semolina adds an extra crunchy coating."
Another top tip Mary Berry shares is to make sure to use goose fat for flavouring, whilst more readily available around Christmas time, you can still find it in stores all year round. On her website, she says, "Goose fat is available at Christmas time from good supermarkets and makes all the difference to the flavour of roast potatoes. Don’t use too much, though, as this will simply make the potatoes go soggy."
She then adds the perfect way to use the goose fat, it requires a bit more than just coating the roasties and stuffing them in the oven, Mary Berry adds, "Heat the goose fat in the roasting tin on the floor of the roasting oven until piping hot. Add the potatoes, spooning the fat over them to coat completely, and shake the tin to prevent sticking. Continue to cook on the floor of the roasting oven for about an hour, depending on size, turning from time to time."
Have you got a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk.