This 5-Ingredient Recipe Completely Changed the Way I Feel About Potatoes

If I had to choose just one carb to eat for the rest of my days, potatoes wouldn’t be it. Pasta is the starch that has my heart, followed closely by really good bread. However, when living with my in-laws during quarantine, potatoes were on the dinner table almost every single night. I grew tired of spuds quickly and claimed I could do without them for years following — that is until I tried Ivy Manning’s Greek potatoes. Meltingly tender and packed with tangy lemon and savory oregano, they’re so much bolder and more interesting than your run-of-the-mill roasted potatoes. Thanks to this recipe, I now don’t think I can live without potatoes, either.

Get the recipe: Greek Lemon Potatoes

What’s most interesting about this recipe is its approach. The potatoes swim in a bath of lemon juice, olive oil, and water that’s spiked with a healthy amount of mustard, dried oregano, and garlic. They are cooked in a baking dish that’s covered tightly with aluminum foil rather than left uncovered. I worried this would mean mushy end results without browning, but that’s not the case. Instead, that rich liquid actually soaks into the potatoes and infuses them with flavor and moisture. It completely evaporates in the process, which then allows the potatoes to caramelizes and turn golden at their edges, even while covered.

• Dijon mustard works, too. Ivy claims that what makes these Greek potatoes so spectacular is that they call for plain ol’ yellow mustard, which gives them a lovely golden hue. While the color it provides is definitely lovely, I hope she won’t mind me admitting that I pretty much exclusively use Dijon mustard for these potatoes because I rarely keep yellow mustard stocked. Although it doesn’t lend color, it works just as well and I actually prefer the flavor it provides.
• Don’t skimp on the lemon juice. And while a whopping 1/2 cup of lemon juice might seem like a lot, you’re going to want to use it all. These potatoes are meant to be bracing and lemon-forward, which is exactly why they’re such a great complement to a meal, be it roasted chicken, grilled steak, or pan-seared fish.