Greek Roasted Potatoes with Lemon and Oregano Recipe
These potatoes are a classic side dish in Greek tavernas – fragrant with lemon, garlic, and oregano, and soft like mashed potatoes on the inside. They’re often served alongside roasted meat or fish, but they can just as easily play the main role with a salad and yogurt sauce. It’s a great way to make ordinary potatoes taste like a holiday.
These Greek-style potatoes combine the comfort of soft, almost creamy insides with a bright, sunny flavor of lemon, garlic, and oregano. Baking them in stock makes them incredibly aromatic and juicy, so they stand out from classic roasted potatoes.
Chef's tips
Use waxy or all-purpose potatoes that hold their shape but still become soft inside. Don’t skip covering the dish at the beginning – this step lets the potatoes absorb the lemony stock and cook through before they start browning. If your oven browns too quickly, lower the temperature slightly for the uncovered baking time.
How to serve
Serve straight from the baking dish, sprinkled generously with fresh parsley. They pair perfectly with grilled or roasted meats, baked fish, or as part of a mezze-style spread with tzatziki, olives, and a Greek salad.
Ingredients
- potatoes peeled, cut into wedges - 1 kg
- garlic lightly crushed with a knife - 4 cloves
- vegetable stock or chicken stock - 250 ml
- lemon juice freshly squeezed - 3 tablespoons
- olive oil - 4 tablespoons
- dried oregano - 1.5 teaspoons
- salt or to taste - 1 teaspoon
- black pepper - 0.5 teaspoons
- lemon cut into thin slices, optional for baking - 0.5 pieces
- parsley chopped leaves for sprinkling - 2 tablespoons
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Lightly grease a large baking dish or shallow roasting pan with olive oil.
- Peel the potatoes, rinse them, and cut into wedges of similar size so they bake evenly.
- In a large bowl, mix together the stock, lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the crushed garlic cloves.
- Add the potatoes to the bowl with the marinade and mix thoroughly with your hands or a large spoon so every piece is coated with the liquid.
- Transfer the potatoes along with all the marinade to the baking dish, spreading them out in a single layer. If using lemon slices, arrange them on top.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil (shiny side facing in) and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. During this time the potatoes should partially cook in the sauce.
- After 30 minutes, remove the foil, gently stir the potatoes, and bake for another 20–25 minutes uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the potatoes are golden and slightly crisp on the edges.
- Check with a fork that the potatoes are soft inside. If they are still slightly firm, bake for an additional 5–10 minutes.
- After removing from the oven, take out the garlic cloves if you don’t like eating them whole. Sprinkle the potatoes with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Storage
Ziemniaki przechowuj w lodówce w zamkniętym pojemniku. Podgrzewaj w piekarniku lub na patelni z odrobiną oliwy, aby odzyskały lekko chrupiące brzegi.
