Greek Lemon Potatoes ｜ Christine Cushing

Hi, I'm Christine Cushing, and welcome to my Quarantine Kitchen, where I give you easy, comforting recipes that make the most of the ingredients you have on hand. Today, three words. Greek lemon potatoes. Opa! That's all I have to say, right? We're going to make them together, and they are delicious. So, first thing in my Greek lemon potatoes... I don't know, I'm going to be talking in this accent. I have no idea why, but, you know, as soon as I say Greek lemon potatoes, I feel like I need to say it that way. I always have my potatoes soaking in water here, just to prevent them from browning. It also washes off some of that starch, so if you want to make a mess of these, you can peel, cut the potatoes, get the whole family involved, do this in advance, and you can keep them in cold water, ready to go. Again, depending on the size, I'm just going to cut them into wedges, but really, this is kind of a no-fuss recipe. You can pretty much cut these however you want. But because I have different sizes, I'm just adjusting. Some of them are going to be in half, some in quarters, you know, the drill. The key here is, for this kind of recipe, and many of the Greek recipes, it's really about simplicity, but the quality of your ingredients. And sometimes quality is also what kind of ingredient you're using. Alright, those are looking good, I can already imagine them. So for me, the best Greek lemon potato needs this sort of, more on the starchy side. So this is a potato that's Yukon Gold, so it's a bit of a hybrid. I love using this potato, if you know me. But more you want to err on, I'm just going to do this, it'll be faster. You want to err on potatoes that are a little bit more starchy, so something that you would make mashed potatoes with, fries, not the new potatoes. Why? Because this is going to give us that beautiful crispiness, right? So in here are my potatoes. Again, it's a no-recipe recipe, just get a pan, I love this roasting pan because it's cast iron, so it's going to give me those crunchy bits. So while we're on the crunchy bits, let's talk about how do you prefer your potatoes. Everybody's got a different idea. This is olive oil, and there's going to be, again, a warning, there's going to be a bit of olive oil. If a Greek grandmother's making this, pretty much the whole bottle. I don't do that, but I would say a quarter of a cup, for sure. And you're going to get the full recipe, but right now I'm just winging it, not too much. So with this olive oil and with this kind of pan, what I like is, I like the outer edges to have that crispiness, almost like stuck to the bottom, little dark edges, and then the inside to be super tender. That's why I make it in this kind of pan, and I'm not going to cover it. So to that end, I'm going to add a couple of things here. They are lemon potatoes, right? So cue the lemon. I got a few bald, kind of leftover pieces of lemon in my fridge, so again, I want to use those up. I don't know if anybody has more bald citrus fruit than I have in my fridge, but it's always there. So I'm going to squeeze probably the equivalent of one whole lemon, because they've got to be lemony. So exciting. My mouth already is watering just thinking about them. And it's a good way to use this leftover just bits of lemon sitting around, right? These are going to go in. If you've got lemons that have no juice, you might have to go with a lemon and a half. If you don't like too much, just go with less. Totally up to you. Okay, now that I've used all my bald lemons, I'm going to make another lemon bald, because I love adding the zest also. So I always wash my lemons, any kind of citrus fruit before I do this, and I go for organic for that reason, because a lot of the pesticides sit on the skin. Lemon zest, check. Now, Greek lemon potatoes, you got to have Greek oregano. And it's really a mess of it, again. I always bring back oregano from Greece, and it's just so fragrant, so phenomenal, and I don't know, I can't even tell you. This is how we bring it back, and then we just pull it off the stems like this. So fragrant, so incredible if you happen to have these, you get little bunches on. And somehow, the amount of oregano we use in Greek cooking seems insane. It just seems like it can't be enough. Any regular person would think this is a ridiculous amount of oregano, but it's great. I'm going to use a little coarse salt, any kind of sea salt, again, on top here. Not too much. And while we're there, let's hit it with some cracked black pepper. I like it a bit coarser, but here, it's lemon, olive oil, and potato. That's what you want to be tasting. Shall we do a little shimmy? But you know what, I'm going to stir it, because I'm going to wear it. That's my motto. Stir it. If you don't want to wear it right away, I imagine the end result. I mean, it's so easy. But here's the thing, right, this is that recipe that, in my family, people literally stand on the stove, if it's hot, if it's cold, if it's burning, and just start picking out of the pan. I don't know. Maybe it's just my family, but they do it. I have seen them. So we probably end up making twice as many potatoes as we think we're going to need, because half of them get eaten before. The secret for me is a little bit of water in this. What the water is going to do is steam the potatoes, not too much, just a little bit, until they fully cook, and then they're going to get crispy as the water evaporates. Now, if you like your potatoes soft and just tender all the way through, you add a bit more moisture, water, and cover it, and that way they steam. I don't like to do that, though. So this is all ready to go. Oven is set at 375, and the convection is the key here. Don't ask me how long it's going to take. I'll tell you after. When they're done, we'll look at them. Seven potatoes make me so happy. 45 minutes. It's... they are good. Wait till you see them. Wait. You're going to be standing on top of this pan, picking. Look at that. Oh. They are, of course, smoking hot now, so there'll be no picking. We got to wait a few minutes. Sizzle. Do you smell the lemon and olive oil in the air? These have had a chance to cool down. Look what I promised you. I'm going to be standing. I'm going to be the one standing, picking at these. Come in this pan and look at the crispy bits. Do you see that? Look at that. This is what you want to see, crunchy little corners. If your potatoes are perfectly shaped in an all kind of blonde color, then you have failed. You got to see these gnarly little bits, crunchiness. That's what I want to see. And this one looks perfect for the tasting. Look at that. Totally imperfect like I am. Perfection is overrated. Mmm. This is so good. Look at that. Look at inside what this looks like. See what I promised you? Crispy outer edges and then look inside, super soft. Who's not going to be standing on top of this eating the whole pan? That's where you're going to find me. The lemon right away hits you on the side. So mouthwatering. So comforting. So easy. All those things I promised you off the top. Thank you for joining me in the Quarantine Kitchen again for this fun, simple recipe that has universal appeal. Everybody will love it. Thank you. Thumbs up. Please share. Let me know what's happening in your kitchen. Try the lemon potatoes. Let me know how they go. Mmm. Lemony.