THEY’RE a key part of Brits’ favourite dinner – the mighty Sunday roast – but we bet you’ve never cooked your roast potatoes in the microwave.
That’s right, according to one home energy expert turned cooking pro, we should be using the microwave when cooking our trusty spuds, as not only will nobody notice the difference but it can also save serious money.
In the brand new episode of Channel 5’s Secrets of Your Supermarket Food, which airs on Thursday 1 September, presenters Angellica Bell and Alexis Conran team up to uncover some hidden gems about the nations’ favourite foods.
And in one segment of the show, Angellica is shocked to discover that roasties can be made using the microwave rather than by parboiling.
The popular presenter meets with Dr Christian Reynolds – a senior lecturer at the Centre for Food Policy at City University.
He’s on hand to show how to make the British classic in a totally different way so that families can save energy but don’t compromise on taste.
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Angellica and Dr Christian head to meet a family of four to demonstrate how it’s done.
After Dr Christian quizzes the women on how they cook their potatoes, he says: “I’m about to blow your mind.
“I’m going to suggest something that’s a bit controversial… have you thought of microwaving your potatoes?”
As the mum-of-two replies that she always parboils them to create the fluffiness, Dr. Christian says his alternative method can work just as well.
He says that it’s a total “gamechanger” as he continues: “It won’t affect the taste, it won’t affect the flavour. It’s just the parboiling stage, instead of it being on the hob, it’s in the microwave.”
He then shows how you place the potatoes in a bowl with a plate over the top and pop them in the microwave for seven minutes, before taking them out for a stir. They are then put back into the kitchen device for another seven minutes.
Once the potatoes are cooked, it’s time to spread the oil over the potatoes and pop them in the oven for a shorter time of twenty minutes.
The result? Perfectly cooked roast potatoes that are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the out.
What’s more, a family of four can save an average of 69p each time on energy bills if they follow this technique.
It won’t affect the taste, it won’t affect the flavour
Dr Christian Reynolds
The expert then shares how other parts of the dinner can also be altered to save some much-needed cash amid rising costs.
He says it’s just as tasty to spatchcock a chicken – which involves flattening it and removing the bones. This takes considerably less time in the oven and loses less energy.
Meanwhile, he favours microwave veg, saying it’s just as good as boiled and only costs around 3-4p.
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All of these tiny alterations take the total energy cost from £4.10 per roast dinner cooked, to a much more manageable £2.30.
Most importantly, the family gave it a huge thumbs up and said they couldn’t taste the difference at all.
Secrets of Your Supermarket Food airs Thursday 1 September at 8pm on Channel 5
