Crispiest Greek Lemon Potatoes Recipe (Patates Lemonates)

Name: Crispiest Greek Lemon Potatoes Recipe (Patates Lemonates)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 7 large potatoes (maris piper); 3 cloves of garlic, minced; 150ml olive oil (3/4 cup); 150ml water (3/4 cup); 1 tablespoon dried oregano; juice of 2 lemons; 1 teaspoon semolina; salt and freshly ground pepper

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Greek Lemon Potatoes (Patates Lemonates)

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The perfect, traditional Greek lemon potatoes recipe, ideal for your Sunday family roast!!! Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside with a delicious lemony flavour!

Greek lemon potatoes are perfect on their own served with some crusted bread to dig into all the delicious juices or accompanying your moussaka, roast lamb, chicken, pork chops, a juicy burger or steak, and the list goes on.

So how to make the perfect traditional Greek lemon potatoes? It is as simple as 1-2-3 – Select the right potato variety, add the secret lemony ingredient and crisp them to perfection! So lets get started!

The perfect Greek lemon potatoes: start with the right potato variety

Selecting the right potato variety for your Greek lemon potatoes is crucial if you want to achieve that perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside texture. The ideal type is Maris Piper as they are one of the most starchy kind and will become quite crumbly when baked and even Heston Blumenthal recommends them!

There are two ways that you can bake your roast potatoes:

You can parboil them, i.e. cut them up in wedges, boil them in a pan until right before they are ready and then sift using a colander. Then drizzle with some semolina and the lemon sauce.
Alternatively you can cut your potatoes up in wedges, dress and bake them straight in the oven.

The second approach will take a little longer as the potatoes need to bake for longer but I have found that it gives them crispier edges, while the parboiled version allows for more of the lemon sauce to soak in and tend to be flakier.

The secret ingredient for the crispiest Greek lemon potatoes is in the sauce!

The special sauce that we will be using to garnish our favorite Greek lemon potatoes is nothing else than a mix of lemon juice, dried oregano, minced garlic and some semolina.

Semolina is made from ground up durum wheat and is perfect for making roasting dressings. Semolina will coat the potatoes and will harden up when cooking, forming a nice crispy skin around them and adding to the crunchiness of the maris piper potato.

For a large batch of about 7-8 potatoes use:

3 garlic cloves
3/4 of a cup olive oil
equal amount of water (if not parboiled)
1 tsp dried oregano
the juice from 2 lemons
1 or 2 tsps of semolina, depending on how crispy you like your Greek lemon potatoes!

I always make a little extra just in case the potatoes need a little longer to cook and I have to season again mid-cooking.

What potatoes are best for baking?

If you are looking for a crisp edge, firm flesh and solid inside then go for a waxy potato, like Red Bliss, Desiree or similar red skinned potato or even new potatoes if you can cope with the smaller portion size.

If you are looking for a crunchy texture with a soft, fluffy inside, go for a starchy potato, like Maris Piper, classic Idaho or Russet.

Should you boil your potatoes before roasting?

Boiling your potatoes before roasting them (also known as parboiling) will help the potatoes develop a crunchy, crispy skin when baked. Why? Because parboiling them breaks down the starches in the potato and allows for more of the cooking oil and sauce to soak in.

However there are a couple of things to be mindful of to get the best result. Firstly, make sure you pick a starchy potato variety, like Maris Piper, Idaho or Russet. Also, when preparing them, cut them in thick, chunky wedges so they don’t fall apart when boiling.

Secondly, make sure you salt the boiling water. One tablespoon for a medium size pot should be sufficient. You want the water to barely taste salty! Boil them till they are just beginning to flake on the outside, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and let them cool down on a dry tray.

Finally, when seasoning, use only oil, seasoning (oregano with a little lemon, mustard with a little orange juice) but do not add any water if you are parboiling them, to avoid them becoming soggy and breaking up in the oven. Heat up the oven as high as it can go and bake them till colored on the outside.

What to serve your greek lemon potatoes with?

Over the years I have thoroughly enjoyed these lemon roast potatoes with a variety of roasts, like roast lamb, chicken, pork and of course beef and they have been the perfect side dish for my large Sunday family meal. So go ahead, give this traditional Greek lemon potatoes recipe a try and roast your potatoes to perfection!

Got a question or comment? Feel free to ask in the comments section below and of course don’t forget to share with your friends on your favorite social network using the buttons above!