lemon tomato roasted potatoes
a simple and delicious side for spring/summer dinners
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Happy Tuesday, friends. Today I’m sharing a lost and found recipe almost ten years old from the archives (thank you for finding it, Aimée!) for these lemon tomato roast potatoes. They’re a perfect side all year round, but particularly nice for spring and summer, I think. They’re tender, a bit sticky with caramelized tomato, and have a nice bit of fresh acid from the lemon.
Potatoes are an often overlooked staple that are cheap, delicious, comforting, and healthful. A bag often lasts a good while in the pantry and is always on hand in our house. I love that potatoes can be creamy, crispy or both. These are both—the potatoes are par boiled to ensure even cooking and creaminess, then tossed with lots of good strong flavors—tomato, lemon, garlic, and rosemary—enveloped in olive oil for crisp edges, and tucked in the oven to roast, hands off, as an excellent dinner side.
They are an easy meal when paired with a simple protein and vegetable, three simple meal pairings we often do in the warm season, using these potatoes, are:
alongside greek spiced grilled tofu skewers and a dollop of salted yogurt (thick yogurt, a touch of lemon, olive oil, salt) and green salad
alongside my chickpea zucchini fritters, tzatziki, roasted red peppers
alongside chickpea, herb, feta salad & strawberries tossed with a bit of sugar and a touch of Grand Marnier for dessert
lemon tomato roasted potatoes
notes: if it’s summer and you have some juicy and soft skinned cherry tomatoes, halve them and use about 1/2 cup/a large handful instead of the passata. If you want these without tomato, omit and add in 2 tsp good dijon mustard to the lemon juice before pouring over.
2 pounds yellow potatoes
1/4 cup passata/tomato puree
juice + zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
optional: a few sprigs of rosemary or oregano
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Cut the potatoes into wedges and parboil 3-4ish minutes- they should be softened but not totally tender nor falling apart. Drain them well, and place in a rectangular baking dish.
Crush the garlic with the flat side of your knife, remove the skins, and add tuck in among the potatoes. Add all the remaining ingredients, making sure the potatoes are well coated.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes- 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender. Serve hot.
