Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon and Oregano

Roasted Potatoes
with Garlic, Lemon and Oregano

Patates Riganates
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Few people can resist these potatoes, which are capable of stealing the show from any food they accompany —so make sure you have plenty for seconds. Although it is served all over Greece, this dish is particularly good on islands like Naxos, where the local potatoes have an exceptional taste. On the special days when a leg of lamb or a chicken is roasted, the potatoes are cooked in its juices.

If you want to cook this dish using small potatoes, there is no need to peel them, but I suggest that you halve them, because they taste best when they can absorb more sauce.

3 pounds baking potatoes,
peeled and cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes in a single layer in a 13-X-9-inch baking dish and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste and toss well to coat with the oil.

Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add the stock, toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, toss and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through. If you like, preheat the broiler and broil the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and serve at once.

Variation:
Dissolve 1 tablespoon tomato paste in the stock, and reduce the amount of lemon juice to taste. Substitute Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes for the black pepper.

Buy the Book!

The Foods of the Greek Islands
Cooking and Culture at the
Crossroads of the Mediterranean
By Aglaia Kremezi
Houghton Mifflin, November 2000
Hardcover, $35.00
Full-color photographs throughout
ISBN: 0-395-98211-1
Recipe reprinted by permission.