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Smoking Chimney

Recipes from a working kitchen · Cape Town

Perfect Roast Potatoes

By Marna Ross Updated 12 August 2026 4.56 from 27 ratings
If there is one dish that you never must leave out on a Sunday Roast meal, then it will be Perfect Roast Potatoes. No matter where you go, roast potatoes are commonly on every menu, whether a home cooked Sunday meal at home or a lovely venue in the neighbourhood. You will seldom find any menu without this.The exception to make will be the Keto or trendy diets from these days, but I must admit food is not food without potatoes!This recipe is from my chef school days, back at Warwick Chef School and I would like to dedicate this one to them. We used to make roast potatoes for the Sunday Roast menu every Sunday for the folks from the retirement village (The Chef School are situated in a Retirement Village and we serve food to them while obtaining a Chef Qualification.)I remember the Carvery meats, such as Traditional Roast Chicken  or succulent Roast Lamb for Christmas paired with lovely perfect roast potatoes and wholesome veggies, rounded off with either Malva Pudding  or delicious Brandy Tart.   
A plate of extra crispy, golden brown perfect roast potatoes seasoned with rosemary.
Prep 10 min
Cook 50 min
Total 1 h
Serves 6

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Ingredients

  • 1.3 kg large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into even-seized chunks
  • 3 Tablespoons dripping, fat or olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • sprigs of thyme or rosemary for garnish

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220° Celsius

  2. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the potatoes, bring back to the boil and cook for 5-7 minutes. The potatoes should still be firm. Remove from the heat

  3. Meanwhile add the dripping to a roasting tin and place the tin in the preheated oven

  4. Drain the potatoes well and return them to the pan. Cover with the lid and firmly shake the pan so that the surface of the potatoes is roughened to help give a much crisper texture

  5. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and carefully tip the potatoes into the hot fat. Baste them to ensure they are all coated with the oil

  6. Roast at the top of the oven for 45-50 minutes until they are browned all over and thoroughly crisp. Turn the potatoes and baste again only once during the process or the crunchy edges will be destroyed

  7. Carefully transfer the potatoes from the roasting tin into a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve immediately

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