There's something rather disappointing about a roast potato that looks perfect but doesn't taste of much.
Golden outside, fluffy inside, beautifully crisp edges. Then you take a bite and reach for the salt.
It's something we've been thinking about here at Broomhill Farm, particularly as roast dinners start making their regular appearance again.
And one of the simplest improvements you can make has nothing to do with which potato you buy or how long you roast it.
It's knowing when to add the salt.
Should you salt roast potatoes before or after cooking?
The short answer is during preparation and cooking, rather than relying entirely on salt at the table.
Seasoning potatoes before they go into the oven allows the salt and any herbs to become part of the roasting process.
Sprinkling salt over finished potatoes isn't necessarily wrong. A little at the end can bring everything together.
But if you only season once they're on the plate, you're missing an opportunity to build flavour as they cook.
The three moments that matter
1. Season the cooking water
If you're parboiling potatoes, add some salt to the water.
This gives the potatoes an opportunity to absorb seasoning before roasting, rather than leaving all the flavour on the surface.
You don't need to make the water excessively salty. Just season it sensibly.
2. Add your herbs and seasoning before roasting
Once you've drained the potatoes and allowed some of the steam to escape, give them a shake to roughen the edges.
Those fluffy edges are what help create the lovely crispy bits.
Now toss the potatoes in your roasting fat or oil and add your seasoning.
This is where we like using our Rosemary Salt.
We grow the rosemary here on our North Devon farm, dry it and blend it with sea salt.
The idea is simple: get the rosemary and salt onto the potatoes while they're cooking, not just once they've finished.
If you're roasting at a high temperature, keep an eye on any exposed herb pieces so they don't burn.
3. Taste before serving
When the potatoes come out of the oven, taste one.
Do they need a little more seasoning?
If so, add it now, while they're still hot.
The important difference is that you're making a final adjustment, rather than trying to give an otherwise unseasoned potato all its flavour in one go.
Our simple method for crispy rosemary roast potatoes
You don't need an elaborate recipe to make excellent roast potatoes.
Serves: 4
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: Approximately 50–65 minutes, including parboiling
Ingredients
- 1 kg Maris Piper potatoes
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, rapeseed oil or your preferred roasting fat
- Salt for the cooking water
- Rosemary Salt, to taste
Method
- Heat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan).
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into evenly sized pieces.
- Place them in a pan of cold, lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 8–10 minutes, until the outsides begin to soften.
- Drain thoroughly and allow them to steam dry for a few minutes.
- Shake the potatoes gently in the colander to roughen their edges.
- Heat your oil or fat in a roasting tray until hot.
- Carefully add the potatoes, turn to coat and season lightly with Rosemary Salt.
- Roast for around 40–55 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp. Check any exposed herbs aren't burning.
- Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve straight away.
Our farm kitchen tip: Don't crowd the roasting tray. Giving the potatoes space helps them roast rather than steam.
Why rosemary works so well with potatoes
Rosemary has a distinctive woody, fragrant aroma that stands up well to the richness of roasted food.
It's particularly good with potatoes, lamb, chicken and roasted root vegetables.
Combining rosemary with sea salt makes it easy to introduce both ingredients together.
That's why we make our herb-infused salts for cooking, rather than simply as something decorative to sprinkle over a finished meal.
We want the seasoning to do some work while dinner is being made.
Does adding salt early make potatoes less crispy?
Not automatically.
The biggest enemies of crisp roast potatoes are excess surface moisture, insufficiently heated fat and overcrowding the roasting tray.
A little seasoning during preparation won't undo good roasting technique.
The trick is to drain and steam-dry the potatoes properly, use a hot roasting tray and give them room to crisp up.
A small change worth trying this Sunday
Next time you're making a roast dinner, try seasoning the potatoes at different stages instead of waiting until they're on the plate.
You don't need a complicated recipe or expensive ingredients.
Just a little more attention to when you season.
And if you'd like to try the rosemary we grow and blend here on the farm, you can find our Rosemary Salt here.
Farm grown. Farm made. Made for cooking.