Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Epic potatoes.   That's what these lemony, herbaceous roasted nuggets are.  Truly epic.  What makes them uniquely spectacular spuds is that you roast a lemon right along with the potatoes.  The lemon gets soft, gummy and slightly sweet to the point that you can eat it rind and all  You simply snip the roasted citrus into tiny bits and toss it right in with those crisp and golden spuds, combining the slightly sweet tart lemon bits right in with the potatoes.  Like I said.  Epic.

The Lemons - Now lemons do vary and while I've used standard nondescript lemons to make this particular potato dish, I do prefer Meyer lemons, which are even sweeter to start with so you give yourself a head start on success.  On the downside Meyer lemons also have a narrow window of availability in the store, so take heart if you can't find them since a regular lemon works well also. I've even purchased what were labeled "seedless" lemons and used those for this dish.  The advantage to those is, of course, you don't have to fiddle with making sure you remove all the seeds after roasting so your eaters don't chomp down on an unpleasantly hard bit.

The Potatoes - Potatoes also vary, but my favorite for these are standard baby red new potatoes.  I like to cut them in similar sized chunks and the smaller the pieces, the quicker they will roast.  I don't want them too small since I like a nice bite of potato, but I find that a bit of potato that is just right to fit into your mouth without feeling like it's too big of a bite is the perfect size.  You can certainly be the judge of that.

All these simple ingredients just get tossed onto a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and then scattered with rosemary.  Talk about a perfect marriage of flavor.

Chopping the roasted lemon,  rind and all, into the potatoes may sound a bit odd at first, but trust me.  Once you have this particular combination, you'll wonder where it's been your entire life.  Lemons, rosemary and potatoes.  Yes please.


Serve these potatoes, hot out of the oven or at room temperature.  They're even great cold.  Any leftovers work well in an eggy breakfast hash the next day or added to salads for a bit of carby heft.  Perfection.

Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes


1 pound new red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
2 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
1 lemon (seedless are preferable, but not necessary). Meyer lemons work especially well also.
4 tablespoons olive oil. ( I love Thrive Market's Tunisian olive oil)
1 teaspoon course sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper




Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
On a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper to make clean up easier, but you can skip that step) toss potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper.  
Cut lemon in half lengthwise and place cut side down on the baking sheet.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes until the potatoes are golden and crispy on the exterior and the lemon is caramelized on the cut side.


Using tongs as the lemon will be hot, squeeze the juice from the lemon halves over the potatoes, removing any seeds that may remain.  I continue to use the tongs to hold the lemon and use clean kitchen scissors to snip tiny bits of the lemon over the potatoes.  You can also chop the lemon, but I find it's typically too hot to handle and do that comfortably, so I use the scissor method.


Give a final toss and serve.  
These are great hot or even at room temperature (or cold if I'm being honest).  I've used any leftovers in my eggs the next day, making a delicious hash or adding them to salads for a bit of carby heft.