Anytime I have something at a restaurant, someone’s home, a food truck, a festival, or wherever, I spend a RIDICULOUS amount of time working at recreating the dish…. how can I wait until the NEXT time?? Seriously? Anyone relate to this? I almost have to take a 2-week vacation JUST to perfect my newest obsession….. I mean who needs to work anyway? It’s completely overrated compared to satisfying my inner addict.
So these little gems came my way via our monthly getaways to Los Angeles back in early 2000. We used to fly out once a month for my schooling but really I think it was just an excuse to eat chicken wings in our hotel room while watching Jerry Springer, dancing till all hours of the night, shopping until we drop, giggling endlessly over great sushi, and launching out at crazy hours to find the latest “hot spots” to savor the dishes and hopefully catch a glimpse or two of a star.
Whatever it was, it didn’t matter because we had the ride of a lifetime doing adventure. We still miss it and this dish takes me back to one of the many late night launches ……
I can’t remember the name of the mom and pop Greek place where we discovered these but I do remember the food and the couple. They were great. First generation immigrants from Santorini and they shared their stories with us all the while they just brought dish after dish of their families best kept secrets.
So you ask, why lemon potatoes? Why not baklava or lamb solvalki? Or the perfect gyro? Really, lemon potatoes? It’s NOT rocket science girlfriend.
Okay, I get it BUT, mastery came into need when perfecting the marinade and the cooking, they needed to have the flavor and be able to “crisp up” just like they were cooked with more oil. I KNEW that if I ate these babies as much as I was planning, I needed to find a bit healthier balance instead of ringing myself of oil each time I finished. Don’t get me wrong, they are awesome but finding a better balance helped me be able to justify the deliciousness and still fit into my newest threads that were purchased on the same trip.
So enjoy the “skinny” lemon potatoes! Have a good time changing up the herbs to fit your style and go ahead and indulge, I promise your fashion self will thank you!
Just don’t confess to the mom and pop I got inspiration from, I’m sure I have committed a Greek sin having altered the recipe. 🙂
- 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes or 3 lbs other waxy potatoes, peeled
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- ⅛ cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup fresh oregano or any herb/spice of choice
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups chicken stock plus more if needed
- Peel potatoes and cut them in half (from medium size potatoes, quarter if large).
- Let them stand in water while preparing sauce.
- Combine all other ingredients in a gallon size"zipper" bag, and shake to combine.
- Dry off the potatoes, and put all of them in the bag and let marinate for 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Put the potatoes and marinade in a large casserole, approximately 13 x 9.
- Roast for 1hr 10min, turning occasionally.
