Lemon Pepper Potatoes - Food Wishes

hello this is chef john from food wishes comm with lemon pepper potatoes that's right there are good side dishes and there are great side dishes and then there are side dishes like this that are so incredible they will literally make you forget what you had as the main course that really is how amazing these crusty on the outside creamy in the middle potatoes are and by the way if you're someone that enjoyed our very popular fondant potato video these are extremely similar and possibly better so with that let's go ahead and get started by cutting some russet potatoes in half in a very specific way okay what we want to do is lay them down flat and just cut a little bit off either side and we're doing that so they sit flat in the pan but also so they can absorb lots of flavor and then what we want to do very carefully and very accurately is cut these straight down the middle attempting to get two halves as even as possible okay so take your time this is not a game of speed and sure in case you're wondering you can cut those the other way to make them wider but then they might not be as easy to fit in a pan so I like to cut them to get as narrow a half as possible and by now you've noticed we're not peeling these which you could if you want so we'll go ahead and have those potatoes as shown at which point we're gonna want to transfer those into a bowl of cold water and sort of switch them around to wash off some of that starch and feel free to do this in the sink I just did it like this so it was easier to film but anyway we'll go ahead and give those potatoes or rinse and it'll transfer those onto some paper towels and blot off any of the excess moisture and just like when you're making french fries the theory is by washing off some of that extra starch you're gonna get a crispier slash crustier surface and then once our rinsing and drying has been accomplished we'll go ahead and flip these over so the widest surface is facing up at which point we're gonna season these very very generously with a whole bunch of freshly ground black pepper and don't be shy I mean we do have pepper in the name and then besides the black pepper will also hit it with some cayenne and as much as you like which Fermi's a lot and then last but not least a very thorough application of kosher salts or any salt by be careful would define salt since it's very easy to over salt all right one reason chefs love using kosher salts is because it has that large flaky grain which is just a lot easier to handle and distribute evenly and then what we'll do once that side has been seasoned is prepare our baking dish by pouring a ridiculous amount of olive oil into the bottom all right for the amount I'm doing here that was like a quarter cup and once that's covering the bottom we'll go ahead and transfer our potatoes in with that larger seasoned side down because I cut them the way I did they all should fit perfectly in this dish except they didn't in fairness these were freakishly large potatoes but nevertheless I could not fit the last one in which forced me to decide whether I should switch to my large roasting pan and have an extra pan to wash or simply microwave that half and use it for home fries tomorrow which is what I did and I really don't think anyone blames me but anyway once those potatoes are in the pan we'll go ahead and brush over a little more olive oil as well as apply the exact same seasonings some freshly ground black pepper cayenne and salt and like so many of these videos are this really is just a technique and not necessarily a specific recipe and as long as you're using some salt you can pretty much use any herbs and spices you want but regardless once we have seasoned the top we can go ahead and carefully transfer these into the center of a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes at which point they should look a little something like this and then very very very carefully we're gonna flip these over and I'm going with the old spatula tongs combo for maximum safety because if there was ever a potato recipe that was built to burn you it's this one so we'll want to turn those over very carefully and then what we'll do is let him sit just like that for about 10 minutes or so while we prepare our lemon infuse braising liquid which is gonna start with a cup of chicken broth to which we're gonna add some freshly grated lemon zest and then depending on how tangy you want these will also add the juice of one or two lemons okay I ended up using one big juicy one which was plenty but if you feel like doing - that's up to you I mean you are after all the common downs of what's basically just a flatter potato fondant and then what we'll do once that's all been mixed up is go ahead and pour this over the top of our potatoes making sure each one gets a little splash before just dumping the rest in although be careful with that last dump we don't want all the lemons that sitting on top especially all on one potato so I'm going to go ahead and scrape that off into the mixture below so that our zest is under the rest and then because I had some beautiful fresh oregano in the garden I decided to poke in a few sprigs here and there and know that does not make these Greek potatoes for that I believe you have to use dry and then I gave it one last little sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper for probably no good reason but I did it anyway and that say it will give it a little slosh and a quick little old shake a shaker at which point we're gonna pop that back into the center of our 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes at which point we'll give these another and final flip and as dangerous as that first flip was this one is even more so because of that hot liquid so turning is very carefully always if possible turning away from you in case there is a splash and what we'll do once these have been flipped over there's pop these back in the oven for as long as it takes for the insides to get very soft and creamy and for the outsides to get nice and crusty and caramelized and if everything goes according to plan they should look something like this and if you're like hey where did all that liquid in olive oil go did you pour it off no 100% that goodness got absorbed into the potatoes which really is the magic behind this technique and as with almost all potato recipes the only ways to screw it up is to under sultan or under cook them so do not do those two things okay when that knife goes in us you feel like it's going into butter and then let me go ahead and grab some tongs so I can flip these over to that gorgeous larger side we'll be presenting up and man those look good I mean I was basically one little light spot away from perfection but that's okay I'll just stick that one in the back when I put these on a platter and yes of course you could just serve these in your baking dish but as you know I'm contractually obligated to take some pictures so I'm gonna go ahead and range them out a platter and drizzle over some more olive oil as well as yes you guessed it a little more freshly ground black pepper and then for a final touch a little more fresh oregano and that's it our lemon potato peppers are ready to enjoy so let me go ahead and grab a fork and knife and tuck in by the that was my Jamie Oliver impression I know I sound just like him and now my friends is one of the greatest bites of potata you'll ever experience in your life except why am i eating the one in the back let me go ahead and move to one in the front and what makes he's so awesome is two things one is of course that lovely lemon and pepper flavor the potatoes have soaked in and two is that incredible contrast between the soft creamy Center and that crusty caramelized outside oh yeah pork don't lie okay so I cannot stress enough how you really want to make sure these are cooked long enough okay what we're going for here is basically a very rich flavorful mashed potato encased by that crust af-- I'd surface and I was not kidding earlier no one's gonna care or remember what the main course was in fact I didn't even make one although that was mostly because I want to use the good light for the potatoes so I did these before my fed a roast chicken which I'm only mentioning so that you're now thinking about a federal chicken video that might be coming up but anyway that's it what I'm calling lemon pepper potatoes not only are they amazing like this but if you have leftovers and you cut them up and prime crisp those will be the most magnificent home fries you've ever had but fair warning you probably won't have leftovers but either way I really do help you give these a try soon so head over to food wishes calm for all the ingredient amounts and wonderful as usual and as always enjoy you you

Channel: Food Wishes

Views: 2,619,526

Rating: 4.8639145 out of 5

Keywords: Potatoes, potato, roasted, lemon, pepper, crusty, crispy, side, dish, recipe, chef, john, food, wishes, cooking, starch, greek, citrus, easy

Id: UcqzDbB-9tI

Length: 8min 32sec (512 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 11 2018