Do you know someone who doesn't like potatoes? Not me, nope, never met anyone fitting that description. Not even close. We all know someone who doesn't like veggies in general, but potatoes? The mighty spud is always the exception, even for the pickiest, finickiest, most persnickety eater.
Even kids -- those notorious haters of everything healthy -- love them. When Jay lists his favorite veggies, usually in an attempt to prove me wrong when I'm after him for not eating enough vegetables, he puts potatoes at the top of his list (probably because he thinks French fries qualify as veggies).
But seriously, it's hard not to love potatoes when you can do so many delicious things with them, and today I have for you one of The. Most. Delicious. Potato. Recipes. Ever.
These Greek Lemon Potatoes.
Seriously, how delicious is that name? Every word in it is like a promise of things beautiful.
While roasted potatoes are pretty ubiquitous and everyone has a favorite recipe, as do I, one of the problems with roasting potatoes is they can turn a little dry. The beauty of these Greek potatoes is, they roast inside a flavorsome broth, so even as they are crisping up, they are soaking in all that tasty goodness. The result is a potato that's slightly crispy on the outside and absolutely melt-in-the-mouth tender and flavorful inside.
While all that may sound complex, the fact is that this recipe is super simple and super easy. All you do is mix up all the ingredients, bung them into the oven, and hello deliciousness!
And I bet you have all of those ingredients on hand right now. So what's stopping you?
Six ingredients for the Greek lemon potatoes
- Lemon, lots of it. While most recipes use just the juice, I really like adding a dash of the zest too, because the essential oils in the zest have so much great flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic. You don't need much, but it adds a great flavor hit.
- Vegetable stock. You could use water if you don't have some stock around, but if you want really great flavor from your potatoes, do try and use either a storebought or homemade stock. You'll be happy you did.
- Oregano. The flavor of oregano is crucial for this recipe, so don't skip on it. I have lots of oregano growing in a pot in my backyard right now so I used the fresh herb, but dry works too.
- Potatoes. You can use any kind, russet or gold or do as I did and use a medley of colorful new potatoes. Be sure the cut the potatoes in fairly large chunks because they'll bake in the oven for a while, and you don't want the pieces to be too small or they'll fall apart.
You will also need salt and ground black pepper, of course.
Steps and tips:
- It's child's play, really, but there's one thing you do need: time. It will take you but 10 minutes to get your ingredients together and in the oven, but once your spuds are in the oven, you'll need to let them slow cook for at least an hour and 15 minutes so all the liquid is soaked in and the potatoes are slightly crusty and crispy. If you want amazing Lemony Greek Potatoes, don't try to hurry this up.
- Make sure you cut your potatoes in large chunks. Since I was using new potatoes, I cut them either in halves or, for the biggest ones, in fourths.
That's it, really, you don't need to be a cordon bleu chef to get this right. Hope you get cooking, and if you make these, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know. Or take a photo and tag me @holycowvegan on Instagram. I'd love to see!
Related recipes
Greek Lemon Potatoes
Equipment
- Baking dish
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds potatoes
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (and reserve the zest of two lemons. You can skip the zest but it adds great flavor)
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dry)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place the potatoes in a baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer.
- Add the lemon juice and zest, garlic, vegetable stock, olive oil, salt and ground black pepper and oregano and mix everything.
- Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. About halfway through, turn the potatoes once with a spatula to make sure they roast evenly. Continue roasting until all the potatoes are slightly crispy and fork-tender and the stock has evaporated.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
Nutrition
When I saw the photo, I thought there were beets in it! I wonder if beets would cook in the same amount of time? I suppose I could bake them separately and dirty another dish.
I have been anxious to try this recipe ever since I saw it. Snce I discovered my local Greek restaurant uses chicken broth in their potatoes, which I found all do the same, I have been missing those lemony, roasted potatoes. This recipe hits the spot!! Plenty of that lemony flavor I love!! I cut the potatoes in chunks, next time I will try wedges. I thought the time would overcook the potatoes but it was just right. Perfect!! Thank you!!
So happy you tried it, Joan!
Hi. Your potato recipe sounds wonderful but we are doing the forks over knives diet which is basically vegan, but no added oils. So whole food, plant based. What would happen if I left the cool out of this dish?
First-time I've made this dish what a delight, the lemon zing really set's it appart from other potato dishes will definitely be making it again.
So happy you tried it!
Delicious dish! Very popular here in Greece. I always add garlic and I will make it with vegetable stock next time
Hi Loukia, I do actually add a couple of cloves of garlic, not much, but it adds a great flavor hit. I hope you try it with the vegetable stock -- it really improves the taste. 🙂
Loved the photographs-
Thanks -- credit to Desi! 🙂