I wanted potatoes that were crispy, fluffy, properly seasoned and didn’t require a fucking degree in French cookery. Parmentier potatoes are basically roast potatoes that have been chopped into little golden nuggets of joy. Then we added red onion and Parmesan and, frankly, things got a bit out of hand.
Crispy edges. Fluffy middles. Sweet, caramelised onion. Salty Parmesan. What’s not to like? Floury potatoes work best for this recipe but if you’re using a waxier variety, parboil for an extra 2 minutes.
Crispy Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1kg potatoes, peeled
- 2–3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp finely grated Parmesan
- Sea salt
- Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly 2cm cubes. Try to keep them reasonably similar in size so they cook evenly.
- Parboil the potatoes in a large pan of well-salted water for 7–8 minutes. You want the outside starting to soften while the middle is still firm.
- Drain thoroughly and leave the potatoes in the colander for a couple of minutes so the steam can escape. Don’t skip this bit – dry potatoes crisp up much better.
- Tip the potatoes into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, sea salt, plenty of black pepper, garlic granules, thyme, onion powder and smoked paprika if using. Toss gently until everything is evenly coated.
- Spread the potatoes out on a large roasting tray. Don’t overcrowd them – give them room to roast rather than steam. Roast at 200°C fan for around 40–45 minutes, turning once or twice during cooking.
- After around 20 minutes, scatter the finely diced red onion over the potatoes and give everything a gentle turn. Return to the oven and continue cooking until the potatoes are golden and properly crisp and the onion is soft, sweet and starting to caramelise.
- With 5 minutes of cooking time remaining, sprinkle the finely grated Parmesan over the potatoes and return to the oven. Let it melt into all those crispy edges without allowing it to burn.
- Serve immediately while they’re hot, crispy and at their absolute best.
Cush’s Notes: Don’t overcrowd the roasting tray. If the potatoes are packed together, they’ll steam instead of roast and nobody wants that. The smoked paprika is optional, but it adds a lovely smoky note and a bit of colour. Adding the red onion halfway through cooking is the trick – it gets soft and sweet without turning into charcoal. And the Parmesan? That’s the upgrade. It takes these from really good potatoes to bloody excellent potatoes. They’re brilliant alongside a roast, steak, chicken or pretty much anything that deserves a proper potato on the side. If you find yourself eating them straight from the roasting tray, I won’t judge.