Lemony Roasted Potatoes

Many times over the past few decades I have made these potatoes. When I made them for Mother’s Day recently, and my mom said she loved them, I knew I needed to post the recipe.

I have no idea where this recipe came from, since it was so long that I wrote it down. I know the inspiration to make them the first time came from a Greek restaurant in the small town I lived in for a while, where they made awesome lemony potatoes. Add a few olives, Greek salad, pita bread, tzatziki, and a bit of a protein, and you’ve got an amazing meal.

The only think I changed in this recipe was to use less olive oil. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil.

The recipe is not difficult to make, but it takes a very hot oven for almost an hour.  Be careful when you open the oven to turn the potatoes halfway through the roasting – there will be a lot of steam that could be very hot on your delicate skin!

This is a large recipe, for 8 people, so halve it if you need to. You might want to make extra so you have leftovers – it’s that good!

What you need:

• 4 pounds Russet baking potatoes or Yukon Gold
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 500F.
2. Clean and quarter the potatoes and place them in a large baking dish.
3. Toss the potatoes in the other ingredients until they are well coated.
4. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, turning the potatoes after 25 minutes so they brown on all sides.
5. The potatoes will be browned on the outside and soft in the middle when they are done.