Lemon Potatoes With Garlic And Oregano

Crispy golden edges, a soft creamy middle, and a pan sauce of lemon, garlic, oregano and good olive oil. This is the recipe I have been making for over twenty years, and the one you will find in some form on every taverna table in Greece. Four pantry ingredients, one pan, and lemon potatoes that genuinely taste better than the ones you paid for on holiday.

What cooks say: “This recipe is excellent and a real crowd pleaser at my group dinners.

I think one person liked it so much their restaurant put it on the menu.” JT Greek potatoes aren’t just roast potatoes with lemon squeezed on top.

Three things set them apart: Lemon, and a lot of it. Three whole lemons for three pounds of potatoes.

It sounds like too much. It is not. The juice reduces with the olive oil into a glossy, tangy sauce that coats every wedge.

Dried Greek oregano. Dried oregano blooms in hot oil and perfumes the whole pan. Olive oil without apology.

Half a cup for a pan of potatoes. In Greece, extra virgin olive oil is not a cooking medium you use sparingly, it’s an ingredient. Combined with the stock and the lemon, it becomes the sauce.

Use the good stuff. And the stock.

Roasting the potatoes in broth before the lemon goes in is the trick. The potatoes absorb it, so they season all the way through instead of only on the outside.

• Potatoes—Yukon gold potatoes are my go-to for their buttery flavor and thin edible skin. You can also use baby gold potatoes, cut them in half, and adjust the cooking time as needed.
• Lemons, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil.
• Dried oregano, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper.
• Stock—can be chicken or veggie.
• Fresh herbs—oregano, thyme, rosemary or sage leaves—are optional for serving. If you have any growing in your garden, sprinkle a few leaves on top. I love the warmth of their aroma.

Step 1. Scrub the potatoes well under water and cut them into wedges. Preheat the oven to 205°C / 400°F.

Step 2. Place the potatoes in a large enough baking dish so they don’t overlap much.

Pour the olive oil all over. Add the garlic, oregano, sea salt, and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Mix potatoes with olive oil and seasonings well. Bake potatoes for 15 min.

Step 3. Add the stock and bake for another 15 minutes. Step 4.

Add the lemon juice and bake for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and have nice golden brown edges. Place potatoes on a platter, pour the delicious lemon & garlic olive oil sauce all over them, sprinkle some fresh oregano on top (optional) and serve immediately.

• Give them room. One layer, a little space between wedges. Crowd the pan and they steam instead of roast, this is the number one reason lemon potatoes come out pale. Use two pans if you need to.
• Cut them evenly, and not too small. Chunky wedges, roughly the same size. Small pieces turn to mush by the time the lemon has done its work.
• Fresh lemon juice only. Bottled juice tastes flat and slightly bitter after an hour in a hot oven. You’ll taste the difference immediately.
• Don’t stir them. Shake the pan once if you must. Turning the wedges every ten minutes knocks off the crust you’re trying to build.
• Save every drop of the pan sauce. Tip it over the potatoes on the platter. That lemon-garlic-olive oil liquid is the whole point.
• If they’re not browning at the end, run them under the broiler for 2–3 minutes. Watch them, garlic burns fast.

What cooks say: “Loved this recipe super simple to make. I used the baby tri-colored potatoes instead and had to adjust the cooking time because they were smaller potatoes but super yummy , I will definitely make again.”

Felice

The world is your oyster.

They are the perfect side dish. We eat them as a pre-dinner snack, meaning every time I pass by the kitchen, I sneak one out of the baking pan (this method works as an after-dinner snack as well).

• Burgers. Try them with traditional Greek biftekia, add them to a lamb burger bowl or juicy Greek meatballs.
• A grilled/broiled protein. Chicken thigh skewers, or traditional souvlaki pork skewers are great.
• A large leafy salad or a traditional horiatiki tomato salad.
• Roasts. Lamb chops-paidakia, a lemony roasted chicken, and a festive pork roast are terrific with lemon potatoes.
• Eggs, any kind. Serve them with eggs kayanas, a shakshuka with greens, or next to a Greek omelette.
• Tzatziki sauce. The traditional dip is delicious with roasted potatoes.
• Storing. Let the potatoes cool, then transfer them to an airtight container with any pan sauce spooned over the top — it keeps them from drying out. They’ll keep in the fridge for 3–4 days.
• Reheating in the oven (best method). Spread the potatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer and reheat at 400°F / 205°C for 10–15 minutes, until the edges crisp up again. This is the only method that gives you back the original texture.
• Reheating in the air fryer. 350°F / 175°C for 4–5 minutes, shaking the basket halfway. Fast and very good.
• Reheating in a skillet. A splash of olive oil over medium-high heat, cut side down, 3–4 minutes. Excellent with a fried egg for breakfast, which is how they usually end up in my house.
• Skip the microwave. It’ll heat them through, but the crisp edges go soft and rubbery. If it’s all you have, cover them and go low.
• Freezing. Freeze cooled potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a hot oven — don’t reheat from frozen, they’ll go watery.
• Making them ahead. You can cut the potatoes up to a day in advance and keep them submerged in cold water in the fridge. Drain and pat them very dry before they go in the pan — wet potatoes will not crisp.

The recipe was adapted from Aglaia Kremezi’s book The Foods of the Greek Islands.