Roasted Greek Potatoes with Feta Cheese

Summer. The heat is back and the garden is producing and I am settling into the rhythm of a retired woman with a book and an award and a kitchen that never closes. The rhythm goes like this: wake at five (my body doesn't know about retirement), coffee in the garden, talk to the plants, come inside, cook something, eat some of it, deliver the rest, sit on the porch, write in the journal, sleep, repeat.

It's a good rhythm. Not exciting — excitement is for people whose lives haven't settled into their final shape yet. My life has its shape. It's the shape of a kitchen. Square, warm, full of things that nourish. I don't need adventure. I need the stove to light and the grits to be smooth and the family to show up on Sunday.

Sunday dinner is back to its full glory — every week, non-negotiable. Kayla and Devon come every Sunday. Denise and Robert are there. Monique and James most weeks. Sometimes Earl Jr. drives down from Atlanta, though not every week because that's a four-hour drive and the man has a life. The table seats twelve. I cook for twelve. If only six show up, I have leftovers for the week. If twelve show up, I have exactly enough. The cooking always works out. That's faith, baby. That's the arithmetic of love — you make more than you need and it's never too much.

Made pot roast this Sunday. The slow-braised kind, with root vegetables and gravy and the kind of patience that only Sunday cooking allows. Devon ate three helpings. Kayla watched him eat three helpings and mouthed at me: "Still?" I mouthed back: "Always." A man who eats three helpings is a man who stays. I told Kayla that when he first came to dinner, and it has proven true every Sunday since.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Devon’s third helping of pot roast got most of the attention that Sunday — as it should — but what kept disappearing just as fast was this pan of roasted Greek potatoes with feta. They go in the oven early, they need almost nothing from you, and they come out golden and smelling like a place you’d want to stay. When you’re cooking for twelve and faith is your measuring cup, you need at least one dish that holds itself together while you tend to everything else. This is that dish.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

Preheat. Heat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet or a 9x13-inch roasting pan.
Season the potatoes. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the potato wedges and toss until every piece is well coated.
Arrange and add broth. Spread the potatoes in a single layer in your prepared pan. Pour the chicken broth around (not over) the potatoes — this keeps the undersides tender while the tops crisp up.
Roast. Roast for 25 minutes, then flip the potatoes with a spatula. Return to the oven and roast another 18–20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender, golden at the edges, and most of the broth has absorbed.
Finish with feta. Pull the pan from the oven and immediately scatter the crumbled feta over the top. The residual heat will soften it just enough. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.
Serve. Transfer to a serving dish and set out with lemon wedges on the side for anyone who wants a little extra brightness. These are best eaten while still warm from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Roasted Greek Potatoes with Feta Cheese — The Side That Holds the Sunday Table Together