Why Were My Potatoes Soft In Roast Duck Legs With Potatoes?

Asked by Happygirlie66. Answered on 23rd March 2015

Full question

I have cooked the Roast Duck Legs And Potatoes and when I went to stir the potatoes they were quite mushy. Isn't two hours too long to cook them? They are not crispy like Nigella's are. It's been 1-1/2 hours so far on 400F.

Our answer

Nigella's Roast Duck Legs And Potatoes is a type of traybake - a one-pan dish where the potatoes are roasted with the duck legs. The potatoes absorb flavour from and crisp up in the duck fat. The potatoes should stay fairly whole as they roast as a crisp coating will form on the outside but the interior will be soft.

It could be that the roasting pan was slightly too small, which caused the potatoes to steam rather than to roast. They will not then develop a crust and could break up as they are turned. To prevent this happening again try to use a pan that is big enough for the potatoes and duck to be spread out in a single layer.