OH THE HUMBLE potato – can it do no wrong?

Probably not. Whatever guise it comes in, it has to be said that it probably reaches its highest lifeform as a roast potato. Who can resist? No one, that’s who.

As a tribute to our national foodstuff we’ve rounded up a few tips and tricks for perfecting the roastie from you, our wonderful readers, as well as a couple of recipes for alternatives on a classic.

We defy you not to try them all.

The perfect roast potato

All hail alexbrn alexbrn

There were a lot of opinions on the best way to make a roast potato. Opinions were flying and temperatures were raised – and not just in the oven. Yes, we went there.

We rounded up a couple of readers’ tips on some fab ways to roast potatoes.

On our Facebook page, Miriam Seal told us:

Boil until just starting to go around the edges. Then toss in colander to rough up the edges. Into the oven around the roast. Baste with meat juices and leave alone. Crispy on the top. Fluffy in the middle and all caramelised on the bottom.

Eugene  in last week’s open thread on the subject of the Sunday roast says:

And for something a little more unusual, Charlene says:

Roast spuds with some soy sauce unreal crispy and a nice bit of flavour. 

Kevin Griffin in last week’s open thread advised:

After that, it’s wildly debated which oil to use, although the general advice would be to go for one with a high smoking point such as coconut (which adds a little extra flavour) or rapeseed.

Here’s a quick video to help…

Alternative recipes

Now, it’s ok, we know you can’t beat a classic. And we know you’d never get tired of a good old-fashioned roast potato. But just in case you fancied shaking things up a little, whether that’s by making the recipe healthier or introducing new flavours – here’s a number of recipes to give you some inspiration.

Healthier oven-roasted potatoes

Nowadays, there’s always a healthy alternative – and rightly so. This version uses more herbs and less oil, so you can’t even tell the difference in our humble opinion.

We’ve got the lowdown for you here.

MakeItHealthy MakeItHealthy

Oven-roasted parmesan potatoes

If there’s anything that could possibly improve on roast potatoes, it must surely be cheese. Cheese makes everything better – you know this.  So, because we’re good to you the recipe is right here.

SuperValu SuperValu

And, as if we haven’t treated you well enough, here’s one last morsel of deliciousness.

Garlic roast potatoes

Ah, garlic. So delicious. So good for you. So there’ll be no kissing tonight. So what?

Here’s the recipe.

Rasa Malaysia Rasa Malaysia

Over to  you – have we missed a trick? Can you best us? We doubt it, but go try. We dare you…