Lemony Smashed Potatoes (and some very good Greek Chicken)

So, entire meals cooked on sheet pans are all the rage right now.  This method has *me* written all over it, given my longtime interest in personally washing as few dishes as possible.  (My mom is an excellent cook and cooked us a full dinner every night. Growing up, my dad cleaned up the kitchen after dinner–with our help if we were there.  I don’t know how this started, or really what else to say about it, except that this really skewed my expectations.)  

Anyway, I started testing out these sheet pan recipes as promising ones came my way.  I just know there are fantastic sheet pan recipes out there somewhere which will give me a wonderful dinner and a single pan to wash.  Last night I tried out the “Best Sheet Pan Greek Chicken Ever” or some such from a famous cooking magazine.  

I was excited to try this recipe because I love Greek chicken.  I mean I really, really love Greek chicken. When I lived way up north in Birmingham, there was this meat-and-three restaurant, The Social Grill, across the street from my office.  They made Greek chicken twice a week and I ate it nearly every time they had it. It was gorgeous: a melt-in-your-mouth-tender chicken breast or leg quarter, crisp skin covered with caramelized lemon slices, swimming in this beautiful, golden, oily, brothy, oregano-y, lemony, cooking liquid/sauce.  I assume it’s what they serve for lunch Mondays and Thursdays in heaven. If you asked politely, Miz Ruth would splash extra broth over your potatoes or rice. I worked at that job for three years, and I estimate I probably ate this particular Greek chicken upwards of 200 times.  

When I moved on I was delighted to leave the job, but bummed out to be leaving my lunch spot.  Miz Ruth and her son, the co-proprietors, were surely steadfast and kind people, even if a bit brusque when spoken to.  I once left my wallet on the corner of my desk and realized it only when I got to the register to pay. The son worked the cash register with what you might call an eyes-down, stoic, determined, efficiency.  (His mom dished up meats, and a helper handled sides and the cornbread-or-roll option. None of these people wore an attitude suggesting they might suffer a fool gladly.) There I was, mortified, apologizing profusely, and looking around for a place to set my tray while I ran back across the street for some money, but this guy just wasn’t having it.  Long story short, I thought he was banning me from The Social Grill for life, and he figured I was good for it but wanted me to go sit the heck down and eat my damn lunch without a scene. I paid the next morning–I was leaning on the door when they unlocked it–“Yeah, I knew it. Where else you gonna eat?,” he snapped. After that, sometimes when I got to the register he would actually look at me and ask snidely,  “Will the lady be paying today?” I recognize good natured teasing when I see it. I think.  

Miz Ruth took just enough pity on me to give me the recipe for their Greek chicken, more or less.  But before we get to that, let’s talk about what happened with my sheet pan experiment tonight. 

 
So I mostly made that sheet pan Greek chicken, and it was mostly okay-ish.  I mixed up several dollars’ worth of herbs and spices with extra-virgin olive oil to make the seasoning rub.  I rubbed it on the chicken, some of which stayed on the chicken, the rest of which slid off, burned, and made a huge mess.  I cooked the chicken for 30 minutes like the recipe said to, and it wasn’t done enough. I may not be a genius, but I saw that coming.  Also, the recipe wanted me to cut up some random raw potatoes and cook them at the same time. Nah. I knew we wanted crispy potatoes and their method wasn’t going to yield them anytime soon.  In the end, we ate dinner–all those herbs and spices that actually stuck to the chicken were more than a little cloying–and I was left wondering just how many recipes for Greek chicken does a girl need?

The answer is one.  A foolproof recipe for good Greek chicken is a treasure even if it isn’t trendy, and even if you have to wash a second dish yourself.  I don’t have a photo of that chicken from last night, but here is the Greek chicken I made this morning. And below that are the crispy potatoes I made both times.  Pro tip: these potatoes are crispy enough that you can pick them up and dip them in something. A bowl of good Greek chicken drippings is an excellent place to start.  

Print Recipe

Lemony Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 to 1½ lbs. tiny potatoes, scrubbed, peel left on
• Olive oil
• Juice and zest of a lemon
• Salt, pepper, and a little onion powder to taste

Instructions

• Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes can be pierced easily to the center with a fork or skewer.  Preheat the oven to 400°- 425°. Drain the potatoes and spread on an oiled sheet pan. Using the flat bottom of a drinking glass or a can of vegetables, gently smash each potato to about ½-inch thick.  

  Drizzle the smashed potatoes with olive oil, zest the lemon over the potatoes, squeeze the lemon juice over them, and season with salt, pepper, and a little onion powder.  Bake without turning until the bottoms and edges of the potatoes are golden brown and crispy. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes? Watch them, timing depends on the size and consistency of your particular potatoes.  Eat a couple before calling your family to dinner. These are fantastic served with a sauce of some sort, but put the sauce in a ramekin or bowl and use for dunking rather than dowsing the potatoes and ruining the crunch.