Greek-Style Lemon Potatoes with Garlic & Oregano

Golden Greek-style potatoes roasted in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and stock until the liquid is absorbed and the edges turn deeply golden. Tender and creamy inside, savoury and clearly lemony, they belong beside roast chicken, lamb or grilled pork.

Lemon potatoes are the quiet workhorse of every Greek table, and once you have made them properly it is hard to go back to a plain roast spud. The potatoes drink up the stock, lemon and garlic as they roast, so the flavour runs right through each wedge rather than sitting on the surface, and the last blast of high heat turns the edges deeply golden while the middles stay creamy. The pan tells you when they are ready: mostly dry, fragrant with oregano, with lemony juices reduced to almost nothing. They have earned a permanent place beside anything grilled or roasted at our table.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 65 min · Serves: 6 · Cuisine: Mediterranean · Category: Side Dish

Ingredients

Greek-Style Lemon Potatoes with Garlic & Oregano

• 1.5kg brushed or all-purpose potatoes
• 80ml extra virgin olive oil
• 125ml fresh lemon juice
• 250ml chicken stock
• 5 garlic cloves, finely grated or crushed
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1½ tsp fine salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley or fresh oregano, optional
• Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 210°C conventional or 190°C fan-forced.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut each one lengthways into thick wedges. Aim for roughly six wedges from a medium potato so they cook evenly without becoming too thin.
3. Arrange the potatoes in a large metal roasting pan in a mostly single layer.
4. In a jug, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, chicken stock, garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
5. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and turn them well so every piece is coated. Arrange as many as possible cut-side down.
6. Roast for 35 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the oven. Turn the potatoes and spoon some of the lemony cooking liquid over the top.
8. Return to the oven for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed or reduced.
9. Increase the oven to 230°C conventional or 210°C fan-forced.
10. Turn the potatoes once more, placing the palest cut sides against the base of the pan. Roast for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until deeply golden around the edges.
11. Scatter over the lemon zest and fresh parsley or oregano, if using.
12. Rest for 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Serving Suggestion

These potatoes were made for a Greek-leaning plate; serve them with Greek-Style Lamb Loin Chops and a bowl of Classic Tzatziki on the side, and let everyone spoon the last of the lemony pan juices over the lot.

Storage Notes

Store refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered in a hot oven so the edges crisp again; the microwave will leave them soft.

Notes

Use a large metal roasting pan rather than a deep ceramic dish. The wider surface helps the stock reduce and gives the potatoes better contact with the hot base.

Do not crowd the pan. A slight overlap at the start is fine, but the potatoes need room to brown in the final stage.

The garlic will not burn here because it cooks in liquid rather than against a dry hot pan; it softens into the sauce instead.

Hold the lemon zest back until the end. Roasting it for the full time dulls the flavour and can turn it slightly bitter.

The Grace Table Tip

Judge these by the pan, not the clock. The edges only start to colour properly once the liquid has been absorbed, so if the pan still looks wet at the end of the second stage, give it longer before turning the oven up.