Day 41: Greek Style Oven-Roasted Potatoes with Lemon

Diane Kochilas is known for being an amazing cook.  Today, we are following her recipe for making Greek style Oven Roasted Lemon Potatoes.  This dish is something that we have all had at the various Greek restaurants, and that we always strive to make, and now, thanks to Mrs. Kochilas, we now know the secret to making these so delicious.

We chose to use the cookbook The Food and Wine of Greece because Kochilas is very traditional in her methods and her recipes.  Traditional methods interest us and we are often interested in comparing directions among the cookbooks to find one that matches our natural cooking styles.  So, from what we read, this recipe is a classic.  It is also a one-pot meal, in the sense that you put everything together in the pan, mix and bake.  Clean up is a breeze, and with the right baking dish, you can serve directly from it!

To make this roasted potatoes recipe that serves four, you will need the following:
2 pounds large potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup strained, fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat the oven to 450° F.  Place the peeled and quartered potatoes in a medium size, preferably glass baking pan.  Add all the ingredients to the potatoes and mix well.  

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until all the potatoes are golden brown and tender.  If you check the oven while the potatoes are baking, and you see the water has evaporated, add a little more. 

These are some of the shortest and easiest directions that we have found for a while.  Simple food is such a blessing.  But, it is even better when it is simple and delicious.

We found this recipe to be quite nice.  We should have added a little more water to the pan to make sure the potatoes stayed soft instead of crispy on top.  We also found that the potatoes needed a bit more lemon.  We usually like to put the lemon right in the baking dish, and let it brown with the potatoes.  But, since we were following an actual recipe, we opted not to do our own thing.  The next time we make this dish, however, we will definitely squeeze two lemons and throw the rinds into the baking dish to let that lemon flavour soak into all the surrounding potatoes.

The one adjustment that we did make to the recipe is that we put the entire stem of oregano into the pan.  We have found that when we cook with oregano, the flavour is intensified when we use the full stem.  That has been true with fresh oregano, and we wanted it to be true using dried oregano.  The lingering flavour that oregano leaves and that lovely aroma that spreads through the house is unmistakeable and unsurpassable.  So, we thought about that when we put the stems into the pan.  Sure enough, we were right -- the oregano was aromatic, flavourful, and identifiable.  Personal preferences said that we should have added a little more salt, but we chose to squeeze some fresh lemon instead.  That just sealed the deliciousness into the potatoes.  They were creamy, crispy and quite tasty.

The other thing we would do a little differently is to double or triple this recipe.  Serves 4?  Not really.  Not 4 Greeks, that is.  Potatoes are a staple food in our diets.  If this is the main side dish to a meal, then maybe it serves 3 comfortably, but not 4.  If we were following the food guide standards exactly, then we would agree this serves 4 people.  This dish is a perfect accompaniment to a variety of entrees.  We will make this exact recipe a few more times, and we are sure that each time we will enjoy it as much as we did tonight.  We hope that you enjoy it, too, and let us know what you think.

Matthew 5:13-16

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

    ¹³ “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how ^[a]can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.   ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city set on a ^[b]hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a ^[c]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(Source: www.biblegateway.com)