Greek Lemon Roast Potatoes

Photo © Rob Jones

‘You are so lucky being in Corfu at the moment, the weather here is foul.’

That’s the oft received message I get these days.

Then I point out the ‘real feel’ forecast for Corfu of 2 degrees Celsius in the daytime, and that I had to scrape the ice of the car windscreen the other morning.

The other side of the coin of course is warming sunshine which can also unexpectedly boost temperatures up to nigh on 20 degrees.

I face the ‘what to wear’ conundrum on a regular basis. Likewise a ‘what to eat.’

I’ve worked out however that if I cook stodgy winter dishes when the sun is hot, by the time I come to eat them, I’ll be glad of the inner warmth.

I have made a list here of the fifty most eaten dishes in Corfu, which I am working through. For research purposes obviously. Tough task.

I can heartily recommend … emphasis on the Hearty … Greek Lemon Potatoes.

I did stare at this recipe for a while thinking - how does that work. But the result was spectacularly tasty that I can see it becoming a regular dish come rain or shine.

It’s very very simple … with a few tricks along the way.

In short …

• Peel, Halve and Parboil some roasting potatoes.

• Roll them in Olive Oil, then in Semolina and pop them into a pre-warmed roasting tin with some more olive oil.

• Cook until they are considering going brown.

• Add rough cut Garlic. Lots. Half a jug of Stock. The juice of a Lemon and some Oregano.

• Leave to cook… it’s sort of half boiling, half roasting. It becomes more roasting as the stock evaporates. Occasional flip the potatoes so they all get a bit of the liquor and a chance to brown.

• Serve the potatoes, and then spoon the liquid over the top of them.

If I had to describe the taste, I’d say it’s that buttery/lemony/herby taste you get with eating snails. It’s supposed to me a side dish, but that’s clearly ludicrous. I’d happily eat this alone.

Delicious.

R