Just the thing to spice you up for the Holidays! Potatoes are arguably one of the quintessential side dishes you need for Holiday meals and this recipe will heal family relations and rebuild broken bridges!
The need for this method is simple. No matter how much you put salt or other spices on roasted potatoes, the inside always stays somewhat bland. This is why mashed potatoes were invented, by the way.
But, while tasty in their way, mashed potatoes need you to sacrifice the crunchy crust. This recipe attempts to bring these two together, to give you that savory, spicy, soft inside of the potato, but with the spicy crunchy crust!
Image credit: Food Wishes
What you need for Lemon Pepper Potatoes
- Some Russet Potatoes, as much as you like (all other white potatoes are also ok)
- 1-2 Lemons
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Other spices
- 1 cup of warm Chicken Broth (yup, you read it right)
Preparation
image credit: Food Wishes
First, wash the whole potatoes and rinse them well, but do not peel them. It is good to use a metal sponge for this. Then cut them vertically, observing their longer side, and also cut the sides parallel to your initial cut. It will be clearer in the photo.
Seasoning
You can wash off the extra starch at this point but dry the chunks well. Then flip them over so that the widest side is facing up. Season that side generously with black pepper, cayenne, and kosher salt. You be the judge of the amount of seasoning.
The setup
Image credit: Food Wishes
Pour the olive oil into the baking dish you are using and put the chunks in it by facing down the seasoned side. The other, narrow side should now be facing you. Season that side as well as you did the other one.
The first round of baking
Warm up the oven to 200°C or 400 F. Put the potatoes in there for about 20 minutes. While this is cooking, warm up a little bit of water and melt a cube of chicken broth in it. Also, add the juice of one or two lemons and grate the lemon zest in it as well.
Image credit: Food Wishes
Take out the potatoes after 20 minutes and let them sit while you prepare the fondant. Then, use spatulas or any tools to flip them over, with the wider side not facing up. Pour the broth and lemon mix into the baking dish with it.
Second round
Once you have bathed your half-baked potatoes with the lemon broth, put it back in the oven at the same temperature as before. This time though, we only go in for about 15 minutes.
Third round
Once 15 minutes are up, take the dish out again and give the potatoes the third and final flip. This time, the wider side is down and it will stay that way until the end. You then put it back in the oven and bake it until all the fluids are absorbed in the potatoes and they form the crust you desire. It should caramelize nicely.
image credit: Food Wishes
The fluid won’t evaporate, it will be absorbed completely. This is why the inside of the potatoes will now have all those juices and spices. A very popular YouTube channel, Food Wishes, has this recipe down perfectly. Here it is below:
