Millions of households will be tucking into a traditional roast dinner this Sunday to celebrate Easter, and we all know the best bit is the potatoes.
But how do you get the perfect crunch on the outside and a soft, pillowy interior without making them too greasy, or having any underdone bits? A chef who went viral on TikTok with her delicious spud recipes has now revealed the key to the perfect roasties is cooking them in the air fryer.
Poppy O'Toole, who is known on social media as the 'potato queen', says her top tip is to make sure you spread them out in an even layer and make sure you toss them half way through. She told the Metro: "Air fryers use hot air circulation to cook food but if it’s all layered and squashed together, you’ll be left with undercooked and steamed food, which is not ideal if you’re after a batch of golden and crispy potatoes.
"Another piece of advice is to re-evaluate cooking times, the air fryer is an incredibly energy efficient piece of kitchen equipment that reduces cooking times. It will normally come with a handy table of cooking times and temperatures for common foods but check online if you are unsure. You don’t want you to accidentally burn your festive feasts!"
The TikTok star, who has had a cook book of air fryer recipes published also believes the secret to that perfect crunch lies in the oil or fat you add to the air fryer before the cooking process. Poppy added: "It’s really useful to coat whatever you’re cooking (be it meat, veg etc) in a spray of oil or some sort of fat so it cooks more evenly and gives you a better overall colour. Whilst cooking, it’s also important to give everything a toss mid-way through so you avoid any underdone bits!"
In order to make Poppy’s golden and crispy roast potatoes (which serve 2-4 people), you’ll need just three ingredients and the whole process is broken down into four simple and speedy steps. She claims the key to the best roastie is to ensure you’re using the ‘right’ potato, which needs to be a ‘starchy’ one, such as a Maris Piper. This is because they’re going to ‘give the most punch and the most fluffiness in the middle’.
The chef also urges you to think carefully about how you cut up your potatoes when preparing them, as the more edges you have on them, the crispier they will become as they cook.
Ingredients:
4 Maris Piper, Russet or red skin potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of fine salt
Instructions:
- Heat the air fryer to 160ºC/325ºF
- In a mixing bowl, toss the potatoes in the oil and salt, and tip them into the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 30 minutes, giving them a proper aggressive toss every 10 minutes, and even poke them with a fork if you want to fluff up the insides further.
- Increase the heat to 200ºC/400ºF and cook for a further 6 minutes, until golden and crispy.