Buttery and Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes
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Lemon and oregano are a match made in ‘side dish Heaven,’ and this Buttery and Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes recipe simply flaunts their affair!
If you are looking for a fresh potato recipe, one which uses super fresh and minimally processed ingredients, Buttery and Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes just may be your answer.
These bright potato wedges boast creamy centers with crispy edges and are bursting with lemon, garlic, and fresh oregano flavor!
OVEN-READY IN 10 MINUTES!
All images and text ©Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average, LLC
Those of you who follow Not Entirely Average have heard (time and time again!) about my argument for herbs. Today’s post incorporates a good amount of oregano from my fresh herbs’ planter and is a perfect winter side dish.
If you’ve got some homemade chicken stock on hand, definitely use it for this recipe. Yukon Golds absorb the stock flavored with fresh lemon juice, roasted garlic cloves, fresh and dried Greek oregano, and extra virgin olive oil while roasting.
This crucial first step in the process will yield buttery and fork tender potatoes in the end. But these thick wedges aren’t finished until they’ve roasted to achieve an exterior crisp edge.
In their wake, pools of crispy dried oregano leaves coat the baking sheet and may as well be the best part of these two-bite beauties. I do my best to scrape these bits and chop them with fresh oregano leaves and add to the finished potatoes when plating up!
Adapted from an authentic recipe I had the fortune of observing while visiting Europe, these lemony potatoes are the perfect side dish to roast lamb, chicken souvlaki, Greek meatballs, or a big old juicy burger!
How This Recipe Came About…
You know when you’re exploring someplace new, and you eat somewhere and have just the best food of your life?
Like when you are on vacation and the dish that’s set down before you boasts just the right texture, delicious juices gathered on the plate, and some secret ingredient you’re familiar with but just can’t put your finger on?
There is a good reason I’ve described these Greek potatoes this way. I had occasion to taste them while on holiday aside a lovely Greek salad and poached eggs I enjoyed in the south of France.
I complimented my meal to my waiter who promptly went back to fetch the chef. Oddly, it led to an invitation to come back the next morning (5am!) and watch him prepare.
The method is what makes these potatoes. It’s all in how they’re cooked, and very different from the usual roasted potatoes I was used to back home.
Simple ingredients like Yukon Gold potatoes, homemade stock, roasted garlic, Greek oregano, lots of fresh lemon juice, and a darn good olive oil. Oh, and throw in a pinch of salt.
What Are Greek Potatoes?
Chef explained to me how he was one of seven Greek restaurants in Palavas-les-Flots, a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France.
“All good cooks get into their kitchens early to make their vegetable stock and to roast potatoes using that stock,” he told me while puffing on a long cigarette as he added more and more veg he ‘prepped’ using a giant clever…
We were drinking strong coffee and sipping Ouzo at 8am while I looked out over the Gulf of Lion and the sun playing tricks on the waves. I could smell the vegetable broth and the pile of lemon garlic mash he’d chopped just before my arrival. It sat right next to a big pile of fresh parsley and a stack of Greeks recipes he shared were written by his grandfather.
When the broth was close, he dunked a mug into the pot and handed me a cup of broth. “If the Greek flavours are not in your stock, use chicken broth and make it yourself.” A little bit golden brown and SO MUCH FLAVOR!
Buttery And Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes
Do You Have What’s Needed For Greek Lemon Potatoes? Check The List!
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- chicken stock or vegetable stock, homemade preferably
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemons
- garlic cloves
- fresh oregano branches
- dry oregano
- Kosher salt
optional for garnish and serving
- Parmesan cheese
- lemon slices, halved
- fresh oregano leaves and branches
- lemon zest
How To Make Greek Style Lemon Potatoes?
The best potatoes (well, these Greek style potatoes anyway) begin with the best ingredients. You know I am always going on about when there are so few ingredients in a recipe, to make them the best you can buy so they stand up. THIS is one of those recipes.
While the prep time for these is minimal, the cooking time is somewhat lengthy. Worth it, totally NOT hard, just lengthy.
Here are my steps. And remember, this is what was taught to me by chef, his grandfathers’ method, and ultimately THE BEST ROASTED POTATOES I have EVER eaten.
Chef emerged from his refrigerator with two halves of a split head of garlic he’d roasted the night before. Do this IF you have time. Yes, it will add prep time, but it’s worth it if you can manage it.
Lemon and oregano are a match made in ‘side dish Heaven,’ and this Buttery and Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes recipe simply flaunts their affair!
The old Greek recipes almost always use garlic that has been roasted and caramelized ahead, adding to a flavorful liquid which the potatoes roast in. If not, finely chopped fresh cloves will work just fine.
If roasting garlic for this recipe, cut a full head of garlic in half creating a top and a bottom and set both halves atop a large-ish sheet of heavy gauge aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and replace the top half to the bottom half and wrap in the foil.
Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and very, very soft. While the garlic roasts, heat the chicken (or vegetable) stock in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. The stock needn’t be brought to a rolling boil, rather just steamy.
Add to the stock some olive oil, lemon juice from FRESH lemons, dried oregano, Kosher salt, and the roasted cloves of garlic from both the top and bottom of the head. Mash the garlic with a fork as best you can and whisk the lot together.
At this point, the aroma in your kitchen is Heavenly!
Peel and cut each potato in half. From each half, cut 3 wedges, 4 if the potatoes are especially large.
Pour the hot liquid into a large roasting tin and toss potatoes to coat, arranging in an even layer. Roast for 25 minutes in a 400°F preheated oven, turn potatoes one by one, and continue to roast another 25 minutes.
At this point, a good quantity of the cooking liquid is going to have both been absorbed by the potatoes. This is correct.
And this is also where I watched chef carefully remove the potato pieces with a wide metal spatula to a foil-lined tray. He used a small spoon to skim the oil (and any larger hunks of garlic and a tad bit of the liquid) from the remaining juices in the roasting pan and drizzled over the potatoes on the tray.
I watched him hit the potatoes with a squeeze of lemon right on the baking pan. Also, here is where he added several fresh oregano branches.
Back into the oven they go to really focus on crisping up, about 30 to 40 minutes. Chef did not turn them, but I do. Your choice.
And those remaining pan juices? Pour off the juices into a saucepan with a sprig of fresh oregano and reduce by half. Once ready to plate these GORGEOUS Ελλήνικος Λεμονής Πατάτας / Ellinikos Lemoni Patatas, use a slotted spoon or wide spatula to arrange on a pretty platter, then drizzle with the reduced and viscous pan sauce – OMG!
Notice in my photos the charred bits of oregano and garlic pooling in and around the potatoes? Do your best to scrape some of that up and chop together with fresh oregano leaves. Sprinkle over the potatoes along with that pan sauce…yup.
Buttery and Crispy Greek Lemon Potatoes
Equipment
- large rimmed baking sheet
- heavy gauge aluminum foil
- heavy-bottomed saucepan
- metal spatula
- 13 x 9 casserole dish
- cooking spray
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes washed, peeled, halved and cut into 3 to 4 wedges from each half
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock preferably homemade; may substitute vegetable stock
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lemon juice fresh from fresh lemons
- 1 head garlic roasted; may substitute 6 cloves fresh garlic finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 8 to 10 branches fresh oregano
- 2 teaspoons flakey sea salt or Kosher salt
optional for serving or garnish
- Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- lemon slices
- lemon zest
- oregano leaves
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
If roasting garlic for this recipe, cut a full head of garlic in half across from side to side and set both halves atop a large-ish sheet of heavy gauge aluminum foil. Drizzle the bottom half with olive oil and replace the top half to the bottom half and wrap tightly. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and very, very soft. If you are not roasting garlic, six finely chopped raw cloves are fine to use in lieu of roasted garlic in this recipe.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with heavy gauge aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, gently heat the stock. Add the olive oil, fresh lemon juice, dried oregano, salt, and the top and bottom squeezed bulb of garlic (or finely chopped raw cloves) to the stock, mashing the garlic with a fork as you are able. Whisk together so all is incorporated.
- Pour the stock mixture into the casserole dish and toss the potatoes in to coat. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 25 minutes. Turn the potatoes and continue baking for another 25 minutes. Liquid will be mostly absorbed and evaporated toward the end of the 50 minutes.
- Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Use a spoon to skim some of the oil and any large chunks of garlic from the casserole dish you've just removed the potatoes from. Drizzle over and around the potatoes. Dip all but 1 of the branches of oregano into the remaining liquid, then arrange between the potatoes and roast for 20 minutes. Turn and roast for another 20 minutes. As the potatoes roast and crisp, so too will the bits of oregano leaves appearing burned. This is normal.
- While the potatoes are roasting, pour the pan juices into the heavy-bottomed saucepan used to heat the stock. Add the single oregano branch and heat the pot over high to a steady boil. Reduce heat and reduce the juices by half or until thickened and somewhat syrupy. Remove the oregano branch and discard.
- To serve, plate the potatoes and drizzle the condensed pan sauce over the potatoes. Garnish if you like with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh oregano leaves, and fresh lemon slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Modifying The Norm To Make It Not Entirely Average
I prepared these when my good friend came for dinner a few months back. We’d had some wine and she kind of took over the dinner…yeah.
Anyway, we arranged the finished potatoes atop a baking sheet lined with parchment. Onto this pile of yumminess, we added chopped Greek oregano leaves, chopped Kalamata olives, sliced picante peppers, and LOTS of crumbled Feta cheese.
The tray was broiled off until the Feta was a nice golden brown. These potato “nachos” were UNBELIEVABLY OUTSTANDING. If you want to go outside the box, consider something like this.
Lemon Greek potatoes could also work with leftover potatoes, but I would keep a close eye to ensure they did not burn.
Can Greek Lemon Potatoes Be Made Ahead?
Sorry to say not really. They can but they lose something. I think I want that creamy and buttery middle and making ahead to reheat only ever leaves me with dried out and terribly crunchy potatoes.
Can Greek Lemon Potatoes Be Frozen?
Again no. Not very good upon the thaw and reheat process. And I promise I have tried, just not to staggeringly fabulous results, so I report as I taste. I wouldn’t go here.
If You Like This Recipe…
…you might also like:
- Crave-able Crispy Oven Fries with Flakey Sea Salt
- Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Casserole
- Crock Pot Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole
- Loaded German Potato Bake
My mouth has been watering reading this whole post! What an experience!
I’m going to have to try these. We’ve been talking about adding oregano to our herb garden. This recipe alone would be reason enough.
These just look heavenly!
Pinning!
Laurie
Ridge Haven Homestead
Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop
Laurie your comment has brightened my day! I say this because I am so into herb gardening and the constant use of the plants in my cooking. Yes, add the oregano! Thanks for stopping by Not Entirely Average! Jenny
I’ve made butter herbs potatoes but not with lemon before. Sounds like a really good idea to use lemon. Shall try it out!
Pauline, these potatoes benefit from both the herbs and the lemon, but I have done them also with just the herbs and they’re spectacular. I’m so glad to know you may give these a ‘go!’