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Oven Roasted Lemon Potatoes

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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. 🙂

Oven Roasted Lemon Potatoes
 
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I have made them with various herbs, parsley, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, tarragon, and the list goes on. It could be fun to try some spices as well, cumin, smokey paprika…Just be sure to watch the potatoes as they cook so that the liquid doesn't "dry" out at the bottom, add little bit more chicken broth as needed but watch they don't get "soggy" or "too wet".
Author:
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Peel potatoes and cut them in half (from medium size potatoes, quarter if large).
  2. Let them stand in water while preparing sauce.
  3. Combine all other ingredients in a gallon size"zipper" bag, and shake to combine.
  4. Dry off the potatoes, and put all of them in the bag and let marinate for 2 hours.
  5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  6. Put the potatoes and marinade in a large casserole, approximately 13 x 9.
  7. Roast for 1hr 10min, turning occasionally.

Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake

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This is just one of those cakes that you can keep stashed at a continuum, the perfect balance of lemon, almond, and raw sugar. All to satisfy that mid-afternoon or late evening sweet tooth attack. Another awesome addition (if it’s a concern) it’s gluten-free. To me, that’s a free pass to “GO” for a second helping!

I stumbled across this recipe from Cakelets and Doilies (www.cakeletsanddoilies) while looking for inspiration to re-create a recipe my Italian great aunt used to make every summer during my childhood on our annual visits.

I fondly remember those trips and the family gathering at her modest home where she lived with my grandpa, her brother. Its one of those great little houses, yellow with a white picket fence, front porch, big backyard with a garden, and a basement. The basement was my grandpas “man cave” where he brewed wine and grappa but I’ll leave that venture for another post!

The inside was decorated with religious pictures and favorite saints and the doors were sliding accordion-style screens. The color was simple and the furniture was covered in fabrics of various patterns. She always had bowl after bowl of licorice candies with chewy coatings, the penny ones, pretty colors and all different sizes and shapes but in the middle was black licorice, my favorite.

There was always one evening where she invited the entire Italian side of my mom’s family to dinner and prayed for no rain; so thankful for those houseful of saints, I’m sure they pulled some extra weight when asking for the favor. There had to be 30+ of us and if we were to be forced inside, it would be similar to the game “how many people can you fit in your VW bug”? Yeah, you remember the one and some of them I didn’t feel like getting so “up close and personal” if you know what I mean.

The meal was always the same, homemade Italian red rice with meat sauce, roasted chicken, homemade bread, salad, and desserts. There were always 2 store bought cakes, a chocolate and a white with gooey Crisco frosting (a super artery clogger but a LOVE when you’re a kid) and then the lemon ricotta cake from her childhood. I always ate the frosting from the store bought cakes to not hurt her feelings but I was smart enough to hold out and be first in line for the homemade lemon wonder.

I still think my favorite part (other than the cake) was bolting through the front door to be met with the intense aroma of the red meat sauce that filled the air and brought me comfort and satisfaction immediately. Imagine waiting 365 days each year for the initial hit…now that’s a food addict.

It usually took her 2 days to make the dinner and we ate it in 2 minutes. Now I personally understand what a complement to a cook that really is, no wonder she never changed the menu.

So here’s to my Aunt Mary, I’m sure there was some different “secret ingredients” but this is as close to perfect as I remember. Hope you’re smiling from above….

Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake
 
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This is great the next day, after it’s completely chilled, and the flavor and texture seems to get better with time. Serve it with a glass of Vin Santo or Moscato.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1⅓ cups cane sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • ¼ cup lemon zest
  • 4 eggs, separated and at room temperature
  • 2½ cups almond meal
  • 10½ oz fresh ricotta
  • Flaked almonds, to decorated
  • Icing sugar, for dusting
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the base and sides of a 9 inch round springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Place the butter, 1 cup cane sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.
  3. Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.
  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smooth the tops with a palette knife, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Allow to cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

 

Beef and Lamb Meatballs with Fava Beans and Lemon!

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BEEF AND LAMB MEATBALLS WITH FAVA BEANS AND LEMON

This dish just makes me happy. I’m going to start this post with that statement because I can. It is just the BEST of all worlds when you bring in every element.

I found this brilliant gem in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Jerusalem. This book is stacked full of simply delicious recipes and I find myself pouring through its contents on a regular basis.

What makes it fun is to read his memories of the dishes and go then back to the archives of my travel ventures and compare notes. While I haven’t been to Jerusalem, I have had the pleasure of eating many a delish meal heavily influenced by the Jewish traditions and ingredients.

So this trip down memory lane brings me to Spain, if you can believe that. Yeah, I know, it’s a bit FAR and I’m not even in the same arena but hang with me, there’s a story.

If you have ever had the chance to go to the Andalucía area of Spain, the food simply rocks, really. We ate our way through the cities, villages, train stations, wherever. Nowhere was disappointing.

On one of our gluttonous jaunts, we stumbled across a Moroccan restaurant in Rhonda, Spain. We found it off the beaten path from the old town center. The outside tables were across a small street in a park so of course we chose to sit there. Plus it was fun to watch the waiters carry food and drink out while dogging the cars zipping through the square. It was impressive and I wondered how they interviewed for their staff? “Looking for waiters who are talented in stunt work”.

The menu itself was an inch thick and I immediately thought, HOW can they be this good at ALL of this? Well, we were here and if nothing else, the entertainment was worth it and I can always drink wine.

I decided we would need 3 days to study the menu so we asked the stunt man, I mean waiter for his recommendations. As he started page by page, we quickly realized we just needed to entrust this multi-talented man with the task of satisfying our pallets.

He was very calculated as he chose the dishes he felt would please our curiosity and us; he didn’t disappoint. Three hours later, we were filled with the most exquisite combinations of spices, herbs, nuts, and fruits emulsified into sauces and dressed over appetizers, salads, and then fish and lamb. The flavors were so complex and their layers lingered through the entire experience of the dishes.

One of the highlight dishes we had were lamb meatballs laced with almonds, herbs, and various spices and then placed in a delicate sauce of lamb stock, beans, and onion. I dreamt of the restaurant and this dish for days and returned twice in hopes of conquering the menu but always ended up with this favorite.

This recipe takes me back to the park across the street from the little restaurant.

Beef and Lamb Meatballs with Fava Beans and Lemon!
 
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Pair up the fava bean with another springtime delicacy, lamb and finish it all with the brightness of lemon and you have the PERFECT dish! Mop this up with fresh pita bread OR serve it over basmati/orzo rice…perhaps do BOTH, which is my favorite! I also add a yogurt-tahini sauce to the top which mixes in a creaminess to the complex flavors.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • For the meatballs
  • ½ lb minced beef
  • ½ lb minced lamb
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp each chopped flat-leaf parsley, mint, dill and coriander, plus ½ tbsp extra of each to finish
  • 2 large garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp baharat spice mix, recipe below
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp capers, chopped
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 4½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1½ cups fava beans, fresh or frozen
  • 
4 whole thyme sprigs
  • 6 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 8 spring onions, cut at an angle into 2cm segments
  • 2½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 
2½ cups chicken stock
  • salt and black pepper
  • Baharat spice mix:
  • 4 tablespoons ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • Fresh cinnamon stick
  • 2 tablespoons ground cloves
  • 3 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 4 teaspoons fresh nutmeg, grated
  • 4 tablespoons paprika
Instructions
  1. Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. Add three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper, mix with your hands and form into balls about the size of ping-pong balls. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in an extra-large frying pan for which you have a lid. Sear half the meatballs over a medium heat, turning them until they are brown all over – this will take about five minutes. Remove from the pan, add another half-tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook the other batch of meatballs. Once browned all over, remove these from the pan, too, then wipe it clean with paper towel.
  2. While the meatballs are cooking, throw the fava beans into a pot with plenty of salted boiling water and blanch for two minutes. Drain, refresh under cold water, then remove and discard the skins from half the fava beans.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in the meatball pan, add the thyme, garlic and spring onion, and sauté over a medium heat for three minutes. Add the unshelled fava beans, 1/1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, ⅓ cup of the stock, a ¼ teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. The beans should be almost covered by liquid. Pop on the lid and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
  4. Return the meatballs to the pan, add the remaining stock, cover again and simmer gently for 25 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. If it is still very runny, remove the lid and reduce a little. Once the meatballs stop cooking, they will soak up a lot of the juices, so make sure there is still plenty of sauce at this point. You can leave the meatballs now, off the heat, until you're ready to serve.
  5. Just before serving, reheat the meatballs and add a more broth, if needed, to get enough sauce. Gently stir in the remaining herbs, lemon juice and the shelled fava beans and serve immediately.