Crispy Roasted Potatoes With Salted Lemon
Is there anything more comforting than golden crispy roasted potatoes with a Sunday lunch or celebration meal? Here’s how you can add even more delectable flavour to a timeless classic!
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Wherever you go, roast potatoes are probably one of the most well-loved dishes alongside a traditional roast dinner. Whether they’re salted and buttery, smothered in gravy, or livened up with a splash of tangy lemon and garlic, they’re an indispensable part of a truly memorable home-cooked meal.
These crispy roasted potatoes, with salted lemon, roasted garlic, and herbs, are a beautiful accompaniment to a dish like this irresistible Culinary Cartel take on a family favourite: roast chicken. And, of course, the zesty fresh burst of lemon means this dish is ideal for pairing with lamb, too.
Crispy Roasted Potatoes: Always Better at Home
Roast potatoes are a staple at virtually every restaurant or hotel buffet offering, with good reason. They’re simple to cook, are universally loved, and offer a delicious starchy counterpoint to cooked meats and greens. There’s one drawback, though. They’re at their absolute best served piping hot straight out of the oven, and all too often, out of necessity, they’re pre-prepared and kept on standby. Inevitably, that can mean potatoes that are a bit dried out and over-crisped or are a little too chewy from being reheated.
So, it’s best to take matters into your own hands – and ensure the just-ready magic of sizzling golden potatoes, bursting with tenderness and flavour under a perfectly crispy exterior.
Roasting or Baking?
It’s an often-asked question: what’s the technical difference between roasting and baking a potato? Simply put, baking is usually aimed at unifying the flavours of a mix of foods. And, when it comes to savoury foods, the ingredients are most often covered – for example, in a casserole dish.
Roasting, on the other hand, is specifically intended to intensify the flavour of a specific item, usually while browning and crisping it in the process. And that’s exactly what we’re doing with these easy-to-make crispy roasted potatoes.
The Ultimate Crispy Roasted Potatoes
Roast potatoes are already a classic. So, why this recipe?
Well, the addition of garlic adds a uniquely umami note to jammy lemon, the result of cooking down the mouth-watering, tangy lemon rinds in their own juices with salt. Tossing the potatoes through this nippy, slightly tart sauce made with the addition of fresh parsley, provides a delightful contrast to the rich fattiness of the roast potatoes. It’s a celebration of textures as well – the crackly potatoes accentuated against the gooey chewiness of the softened lemon bits that characterise the sauce.
Preparing your crispy roasted potatoes this way offers an exciting element of depth and interest to any side dish ensemble. It’s also perfectly suited to partner with a vegetarian meal option like delicious roast cauliflower.
You can also check out the recipe video here.
Mouth Watering Results?
Did you try out our crispy roasted potatoes with salted lemon, roasted, garlic and herbs? If so, tell us about it – leave a comment, a rating, and remember to tag your photo#theculinarycartel onInstagram Show us your mouth-watering results!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should potatoes be boiled before roasting?
There are a few reasons why this is helpful. Perhaps the most important is that it helps remove excess starchiness, which can form a tough external coating while your potatoes are roasting. It also softens the potato pieces so the fattiness and richness of surrounding flavours can penetrate more deeply while the potatoes develop a crisp golden exterior.
Why boil the potato pieces so thoroughly? Wouldn’t a simple parboil offer the same result?
By boiling your potatoes to full softness, they develop a fluffy, ready-to-disintegrate exterior – and it’s that fluffiness that ensures the crumbly golden exterior that characterises truly amazing crispy roasted potatoes.
Why are the potatoes salted before they’re put in to roast?
A light dusting of salt helps draw moisture from the surface of your potato pieces, making it easier to achieve that perfectly evenly crisped exterior.
Should I cover my potato pieces with foil while baking?
No, don’t cover them. Doing so traps moisture and leads to the potatoes being “steamed” rather than baked.
What can I do with my leftover jammy salted lemon?
This jammy lemon is very similar to preserved lemon. Use any leftovers as you would preserved lemon:
- Stir it through mayo for a delicious chip dip.
- Whisk it into dressings.
- Add it to pasta dishes (we love it in cacio e pepe, and lighter seafood pastas).
- Add it to a mixture of fresh herbs, with a touch of oil to make a punchy lemon salsa verde.
- Stir it thought labneh and add some fresh dill/ parsley or chives to make a lovely dip for crudites or spreading over crusty bread.
The options are endless!
Crispy Roasted Potatoes with Salted Lemon
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4.6 from 5 reviews
- Author: Jess Bunn
- Total Time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
- Yield: 6
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Is there anything more comforting than golden crispy roasted potatoes with a Sunday lunch or celebration meal? Here’s how you can add even more delectable flavour to a timeless classic!
Ingredients
Units
Roast Potatoes
- 2kgs Maris Piper (or roasting type) potatoes
- 1 Head garlic
- 2 Tbsp / 30g capers, drained and patted dry
- 8g Parsley (a small handful), finely chopped
- Sunflower or rapeseed oil as required
- Salt and pepper as required
Salted Lemon
- 2 Lemons, whole and unwaxed*
- 100ml Water
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. (For larger potatoes you may need to cut them into eighths). Place the pieces into a pot of cold salted water, then place on high heat and bring to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are easily pierced with a knife and just about starting to crumble. Remember that cook-through times may vary depending on potato varietal, so check on the progress periodically using a skewer stick. Drain carefully once cooked and set aside.
- Wash the lemons well, then juice them. Reserve the juice, remove the seeds from the lemons, then slice the rinds of the juiced lemons into thin strips. Add the lemon rind, juice, salt and water to a pot and cook on a medium-low heat with the lid on until the lemon rinds are soft. This typically takes around 5-10 minutes. Add a little more water if you need to, in order to prevent the lemons from catching on the bottom of the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 190C, with oil covering the base of your roasting pan to approximately 2-3mm deep. Once hot, tip the drained potatoes into the hot oil and gently toss to coat them. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the potatoes, add the garlic cut side down, and place the tray in the oven.
- Roast until the potato chunks are deeply golden, turning them every 20 mins for about 1 hour. In the final 15 minutes of cooking, add the capers to the roasting tray to crisp as well.
- Prepare the lemon dressing: add 2Tbsp salty lemon puree to a bowl. Squeeze the garlic from its skin into the bowl (discard the skin) and mix the garlic and lemon together until they form a chunky paste. Add half the chopped parsley, and stir.
*You will not need all your salty jammy lemons in this recipe. Head to our FAQ section for ideas on using it up. - Scoop the potatoes into a serving bowl, then toss with the lemon and garlic sauce. Finish topping the dish with the chopped parsley and crisped capers, and serve immediately.
Sumptuous meals make for special memories – and crispy roasted potatoes, done to perfection, never fail to impress. Try these, add them to your repertoire, and enjoy!
Notes
*Because we’re cooking the lemon rinds, I prefer to use organic lemons
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Bake
Nutrition
- Calories: 252.58kcal
- Sugar: 3.72g
- Sodium: 874.08mg
- Fat: 2.71g
- Saturated Fat: 0.53g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48.37g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6.04g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
