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I'm making souvlaki tomorrow and would like to serve a lemon roasted potato dish on the side. I've only ever tried to make these in conjunction with a chicken dish on epicurious and they never ever cooked through although I tried the recipe several times. So I've been nervous to try making these on their own and always just do rice.
I have two 10 pound bags of russets, fairly small in size, and am thinking of trying it again. Do you make these, and if so, how?

Note that I am cooking for 24 tomorrow and a make ahead version is alway nice.

A friend of mine makes these the easy peasy way. Sort of like a gratin. She slices potatoes on her mandolin, puts them in a large bowl, pours on Panera's Greek salad dressing, gives them a good mix, puts them in a 9x13 baking dish and bakes at about 325 until they are done. They get nice and crispy on top and they're delicious. She says the trick is not to use too much dressing. Don't know if this is what you are looking for. She is Greek and serves them at the Greek Festival.

Fitzie

Thanks Fitzie. We don't have that dressing here that i know of, but I do have penzey's greek dressing blend.
This is the recipe that I tried over and over in 2003 or so. I just found my review on it and I did try parboiling them but still they were hard. Wondering if the acid in the lemon "sets" the potatoes so they take longer? http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/ ... atoes-1725

I would like to do wedges, simply because I like the presentation, or cut the potatoes in thirds. But a gratin would be easier to serve. Hmmmm.

Actually, while mine aren't Greek, I do make roasted potatoes (quarter or halved new potatoes depending upon size) and squeeze some aïoli and add some preserved lemon, although lemon zest also works really well. I'm actually making these tomorrow for a dinner party. I'm doing a "test run" for a party I'm doing next weekend.

Amy

Jean, you could roast the potatoes in the oven and when they are finished, add some lemony Greek dressing with lots of lemon and put them back in the oven for a few minutes. In fact that sounds so good I think I'll try it for dinner.

Amy's potatoes sound good, too.

fitzie

Here's CI's version:

EXPORTED FROM LIVING COOKBOOK

GREEK-STYLE GARLIC LEMON POTATOES

If your potatoes are larger than the size we recommend, you may have to increase the covered cooking time by up to 4 minutes. Though a nonstick pan makes cleanup easier, it is not essential.

Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes

1 TBS. vegetable oil
1 TBS. unsalted butter
2 lbs. medium Yukon Gold potatoes (4), peeled and cut lengthwise into 8 wedges
4 cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 heaping TBS.)
1 TBS. extra-virgin olive oil
2 TBS. lemon juice
1 TBS. grated lemon zest
2 TBS. minced fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
2 TBS. minced fresh parsley leaves

Halve the potato lengthwise and, holding the knife perpendicular to the board, cut each half in half lengthwise to make quarters. Holding the knife at 45 degrees to the board, cut each quarter in half lengthwise, dividing the potato into a total of eight equal-sized wedges.

Heat vegetable oil and butter in heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until butter melts and foaming subsides, swirling pan occasionally. Add potatoes in single layer; cook until golden brown (pan should sizzle but not smoke), about 6 minutes. Using tongs, turn potatoes so second cut sides are down; cook until deep golden brown on second side, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover tightly, and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with tip of paring knife, about 5 minutes.

While potatoes cook, combine garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, and oregano in small bowl. When potatoes are tender, add garlic-lemon mixture, salt, and pepper; stir carefully (so as not to break potato wedges) to distribute. Cook, uncovered, until seasoning mixture is heated through and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle potatoes with parsley, stir gently to distribute; serve immediately.

Recipe Type: Cooks Illustrated, Lemon, Potatoes, Side Dish

Source: COOK'S ILLUSTRATED May 1, 2002.
Web Page: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes ... docid=4826

This is delicious and refreshing. Although other reviewers didn't have this problem, I found the garlic to get too well done - maybe because I was using a dark, nonstick pan, so next time I'm going to add the garlic halfway through cooking. Also, I needed to add some water as the potatoes cooked to prevent them from drying out.

Mine didn't get crispy, even though I uncovered the pan the last 20 minutes, but I really didn't care - they were excellent.

GREEK POTATOES

Ingredients

5 large potatoes
1/3-1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 heads garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 pinch sugar
2 -3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
feta cheese (optional)

Directions

Peel and chop potatoes into large chunks.
Crush garlic, and to it add lemon juice, oregano, olive oil, salt and pepper and sugar.
Place all ingredients in a deep baking dish with cover and mix to coat.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees, basting several times with juices in pan.
Uncover pan for the last 10 minutes to allow the potatoes to crisp up.
Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve.

Servings: 4

http://greek.food.com/recipe/greek-potatoes-58927

It seems to me that the chicken will slow down the potatoes. Potatoes take long enough on their own, let alone with a whole chicken added to the pan. I noticed that several reviewers had to cook the potatoes longer than indicated.

I've had good luck with Martha Stewart's recipe:

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

4 lbs russet baking potatoes, peeled and quartered (~8 medium potatoes)
1 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably broken-leaf greek,plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 500 degrees. (I actually do 400 degrees as I'm usually cooking something else at the same time....plus, I think I misread the recipe the first time I made it).
2 Place potatoes in a 10 X 15 inch baking dish.
3 Add water, olive oil, lemon juice, dried oregano, salt and pepper.
4 Toss potatoes until well coated.
5 Bake uncovered about 50 minutes, until fork-tender and brown on the edges.
6 Turn potatoes halfway through for even browning; add more water if all the liquid has been absorbed.
7 If desired, garnish with oregano.
8 Serve.

Hey Jean,
How did the potatoes turn out, and which recipe did you use?