This recipe, (aside from being my first here in over a year cause well, I opened a bakery!), has been a long time coming. I've been on the hunt for a delicious, easy recipe like this for a while. Why? Because I absolutely love lemony potatoes. Despite the fact that I have never visited Greece myself, I definitely feel a strong resonance with the flavours of Greece. I could live off of lemony, briny everything and the flavours of fresh tomatoes, feta, olives, and parsley are the hallmarks of the way I prefer to eat.
While working on this recipe and trying so many versions (which me and the family were happy to do!), the biggest question that came to mind when publishing this recipe was, who am I even to share a recipe called “Greek Lemon Potatoes”, when in fact, to be blunt – I am not someone who possesses any credibility when it comes to sharing a Greek recipe. I have not traveled to Greece, so I’ve only tasted Greek foods in restaurants, which truthfully I rarely frequent here because I’m a vegetarian. My exposure to Greek foods is primarily limited to one spot locally here in the city where for years we enjoyed Greek Potatoes as a family (they were delicious), but make no mistake, this same restaurant also served pizza and veggie burgers ;). I'm so happy to finally have landed on an easy tried and true that has become a new staple in our house. And now you can make them too!
A perfect recipe to me is one that is super simple, uses common ingredients that most people (including myself) tend to have on hand. It’s a recipe I’ll make over and over because it’s accessible, doesn’t take too long, and can be memorized because there aren’t that many ingredients. I don’t love using expensive ingredients and when I am looking for a recipe to share, I always want it to be basic, basic, basic. I also like when there are easy ways to adapt it, such as this one where I discovered that not having broth is A-OK and that water will easily work in its place. I've also made it with both fresh and bottled lemon juice. Both are delicious.
So, this recipe is called Greek Lemon Nugget Potatoes. I've added nuggets to the title here because one thing I could not find when experimenting was a recipe developed specifically for nuggets. I'm not one for tedious peeling, and I love the tenderness that yellow nuggets provide in this recipe. These instructions work for both the oven or on the barbecue (just cook at 600 in a barbecue pan for 15-20 minutes between tosses until done). If you live locally, I recommend you get your hands on this Oregano, as it’s Canadian-grown and will blow you away by the flavour. After trying a version made at our Flourist staff lunch, I was so enamoured with the roasted lemon pieces that I included them here too. This recipe has far less olive oil and is more lemony than most other recipes I've tried. I’m extra that way so feel free to cut the lemon back if you aren’t into it as much as I am. I hope you like them. Enjoy!
Greek Lemon Nugget Potatoes
- 2 pounds yellow nugget potatoes, washed and halved
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- half cup fresh lemon juice (bottled will also work)
- half cup vegetable or mushroom broth (water will also work)
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- One whole lemon sliced / halved
- 1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. To start, bring a medium / large pot of water filled 3/4 full to a boil. Add the halved nuggets once the water is boiling and cook, covered for 8 minutes. When done, drain and add to a large 9/13 inch baking pan with sides.
Add all remaining ingredients to the potatoes and stir to mix and distribute the herbs. Bake at 400 degrees (ideally on the bottom rack a the back where it's hottest) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring once or twice starting after 30 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to toss the potatoes and move the herbs around from the bottom to avoid the pan burning.
Enjoy hot with tzatziki or yoghurt dip.
Note: I've tried this many times since first settling on this recipe. I've used larger potatoes and not enjoyed them as much. This recipe is fool proof when nuggets are used but feel free to experiment based on what you have access to!
