Embark on a culinary journey to the Mediterranean with this incredibly simple yet flavorful Greek-Style Potatoes recipe. This dish captures the essence of Greek cuisine, combining tender new potatoes with the sweetness of red bell peppers, the fresh aroma of basil and oregano, and the zesty kick of lemon. The addition of salty feta cheese or a unique grainy cottage cheese ties all the flavors together, creating a side dish that's both rustic and elegant. It's the perfect way to elevate a simple ingredient like potatoes into something truly special.
Greek-Style Potatoes
Ingredients for Greek-Style Potatoes
- 500 g new potatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 hot pepper pod
- 3 cloves of garlic
- a bunch of green basil
- 150 g feta cheese or zerneny soleny tvorog (a salty, grainy cottage cheese)
- 40 g extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 lemon
- thyme, oregano
- sea salt, black and red pepper
How to Make Greek-Style Potatoes
Wash the new potatoes with a brush or sponge, cut large tubers into four parts.
Cut the pepper into thin strips, fry for a few minutes in a pan.
Add garlic and hot pepper to the fried pepper, fry for a couple of minutes.
Wash new potatoes with a brush or sponge, and cut any large ones into quarters. Cover the prepared potatoes with boiling water, salt to taste, and cook until tender, then drain the water. I recommend boiling regular potatoes in their skins.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the other vegetables. Remove the seeds from the red bell pepper and rinse it under running water. Cut the pepper into narrow strips and sauté for a few minutes in a pan greased with vegetable oil.
Slice the garlic thinly. Crush the hot pepper pod, shake out the seeds, and slice it into rings. Add the garlic and hot pepper to the sautéed bell pepper and cook for another couple of minutes. If you don’t like spicy food, it will still be delicious without it. For a vibrant pepper flavor, you can add about half a teaspoon of smoked paprika.
Put the boiled new potatoes in the pan, pour in EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil.
Add the boiled new potatoes to the pan and pour in the EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil. Sprinkle with half a teaspoon each of dried thyme and oregano. You can also use a Herbes de Provence blend instead of thyme and oregano.
Sprinkle the potatoes with chopped herbs.
Add grainy cottage cheese or small-diced feta cheese.
Squeeze the juice from half a lemon or lime, pour lemon juice over the vegetables.
Pluck the leaves from the green basil and chop them finely. Sprinkle the potatoes with the chopped herbs. The basil and cheese (or cottage cheese) should be added at the very end of cooking, otherwise the herbs will darken and look unappetizing. Basil has a spicy and bright flavor with a unique aroma; in this recipe, it can be replaced with peppermint, which pairs very well with potatoes and olive oil.
Add zerneny tvorog (a type of grainy cottage cheese) or small-diced feta cheese. Season everything together with coarse sea salt to taste. I recommend rinsing the cottage cheese in a sieve with cold boiled water to help the grains stay whole and not stick together.
Squeeze the juice from half a lemon or lime and drizzle it over the vegetables. Stir and heat over low heat for just a couple of minutes. When all the ingredients come together, they create such an incredible bouquet of aromas that it’s hard to believe you can make a true culinary masterpiece from such simple ingredients.
Season the Greek-style potatoes with freshly ground black and red pepper and serve immediately.
Season the Greek-style potatoes with freshly ground black and red pepper and serve immediately.
And there you have it—a beautiful and aromatic dish of Greek-Style Potatoes, ready to grace your table! This recipe is wonderfully versatile. Serve it warm as a side dish alongside grilled chicken, fish, or lamb for a complete Mediterranean feast. For a twist, try adding some Kalamata olives or cherry tomatoes along with the peppers. I hope this recipe brings a touch of Greek sunshine to your kitchen and inspires you to explore the simple joys of fresh, vibrant ingredients. Enjoy your meal, or as they say in Greece, Kali Orexi!
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