I don’t know about you but in my family we always make two separate potato side dishes for our Thanksgiving Dinner. Mashed potatoes are a must but a roasted potatoes side dish is always present on the menu. I think my mom started making a roasted potatoes for my dad who is not too fond of mashed potatoes. Not yours truly, I can live on mashed potatoes, love the creamy, buttery mashed spuds.
Even though I love the mashed spuddy goodness, I have grown to love roasted potatoes as well. So this year I am in charge of a roasted potato side dish for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I started thinking about this roasted potato side dish and wanted to give it some unique flavors. I wanted to give my roasted potatoes a One Tribe Gourmet touch and wanted it to be the best potato dish anyone had ever had. I’m ALL about using the best ingredients in my recipes, I have been known to drive for hours so I can buy that one perfect ingredient. I know I’m crazy, but I’m afraid there’s no cure for my madness.
I knew I wanted to use a few different varieties of gourmet potatoes. I used organic purple & red French fingerling potatoes, also I used a golden round variety called, Buttercream. For the seasoning of the potatoes, I started thinking about Middle Eastern flavors. I was in Morocco & Turkey this past June and brought back a suitcase full of spices from Fes Medina and The Spice Bazaar in Istanbul.
I started to think about one of my favorite Middle Eastern spice mix called Za’atar. I made a homemade version of Za’atar spice mixture of sumac, dried thyme, sesame seeds & sea salt. I wanted to give my roasted potato side dish a spicy taste so I decided to add Aleppo pepper, a chili pepper originates from northern Syria, near the town of Aleppo, which is considered one of the culinary meccas of the Mediterranean. It has a moderate heat level with some fruitiness and mild, cumin-like undertones, with a hint of a vinegar, salty taste. I also added fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil to the potatoes & roasted them on a high heat for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown.
RECIPE FOR A MEDLEY OF ROASTED POTATOES SEASONED WITH HOMEMADE ZA’ATAR & ALEPPO PEPPER
INGREDIENTS:
- 2-3 lbs of cut up in bite size potatoes, I used organic red & purple fingerling potatoes and golden round buttercream potatoes
- 3-4 tablespoons of Za’atar – recipe below
- 2 tablespoons of Aleppo Pepper
- juice of one lemon
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- fresh thyme for garnish
INGREDIENTS FOR ZA’ATAR
- Makes about 1/3 Cup
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons of dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons of sumac
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- Please Note: You can grind the Za’atar in a coffee grinder for a finer texture.
METHOD:
- pre-heat the oven, 400 degrees
- cut up the potatoes into bite size pieces
- In a bowl, mix the potatoes with Za’atar, Aleppo Pepper, lemon juice, & extra virgin olive oil.
- Roast the potatoes in a baking dish for 40 – 50 minutes or until the potatoes are tender & golden brown.
- Garnish with some fresh thyme.
- Enjoy!
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Those potatoes are such gem. I knw a crazy thing to say about potatoes but they look SO good. For the most part I would just look at them!
I have infinite love for Zaatar and am always up for finding ways to use it. Garlic and Zaatar pair exceptionally well together so I’m thinking Garlic zaatar roasted potatoes similar to Garlic Zaatar chicken I made recently. Oh GOd am I talking too much ? I normally do when I see good food
yum, Kulsum you got me thinking about garlic & za’atar roasted chicken!
I love that you make two potato sides, I agree you can’t not have mashed! But, these are gorg! It’s such a great idea to make your own za’atar, I bought a huge bag from the Middle Eastern store and I have yet to finish it, even though I use it a lot.
and you know I always love your photos!
Oh nice Sara! Barbara really did a great job with your website. It looks great! And DO I really need to say anything about those stunning potatoes? Mmm Mmm Mmm
Now that is a dish I would eat so much of I would not leave any for anybody else! great too to use the leftovers for scrambled eggs and potatoes!
Thanks Joumana, Nadia, & Prerna! xo
Wow homemade Za’atar is fabulous! And I have grown to love roasted potatoes and I will definitely spice them this way next time. Love the purple potatoes. Beautiful dish. I want to come to your Thanksgiving meal.
I love that you did home made Za’atar…you are fabulous Sara! How wonderful this dish is!
Thank you Lovely Deeba & Jamie! You guys are welcome to come over any time! I mean it!
xo
I have been looking for a new potato recipe, not quite knowing what I was looking for exactly. I just knew that when I see it, I will know: “This is it!” Well, I will look no further, this is definitely it!!!
Love this dish. I use za’atar in my cooking a lot, too. You’re right–it is particularly good with roasted vegetables.
I would go with these roasted potatoes way before the mash. Those purple ones are beautiful. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful
xo
I love za’atar very much! Such beautiful colours in this dish. Very fall.
Thank you Marla, Bria & LimeCake~ Hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xo
I need you to teach me photography. Your photos are always mouthwatering, and then I read your posts…… The colors of the fingerlings are terrific and I had never thought of making homemade za’atar. Thanks for the lesson.
Sara these potatoes just pop out at me and scream EAT ME NOW what beautiful colors and textures!!
Hope oyu had a wonderful Thanksgiving love, beautiful pictures
Thank you Lael & Joy! Hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!
I would have this roasted potatoes over mashed potatoes any day. We haven’t seen the purple potatoes yet this year. I am going to use zatar and sesame. I make the potatoes with sumac and I am loving the sesame in this dish.
Thanks Soma! Purple potatoes are quite tasty! We have them at Wegmans, Wholefoods & Fresh Market!
Beautiful! I love. Thanks for the recipe and inspiration!
Those potatoes look amazing
I would love to make this recipe. I have been wanting to get Aleppo pepper for some time now. Where can I get it? Thanks.
Had these potatoes last weekend – fabulous! They accompanied a lamb chop recipe in which the lamb was marinated with green herbs and spices and served with a zingy harissa (harissa on steroids!) – the potatoes held up well to the lamb, both complementing each other. Great recipe!