Oven Chips with Feta and Oregano by Yotam Ottolenghi – with Fresh Side Salad
These potatoes are a fantastic side dish, but also work as a main with a fresh salad.
Recipe Categories:
Crispy oven chips with melting feta and a fragrant cloud of dried oregano — this is how Mediterranean summer tastes, with very little effort. Yotam Ottolenghi designed this dish as a side, but together with a fresh salad it becomes an everyday vegetarian main course.
For real oven potatoes with plenty of roasted flavour, one of these little tricks helps: roughening the surface after boiling. That way the potatoes absorb the oil and spices better later on — and you get extra-crispy edges without using much fat.
If you want to cook more climate-friendly, use a plant-based “feta” made from almond or soy milk — the flavours of oregano and garlic carry the dish just as well in a vegan version.
The salad provides freshness and a contrast in temperature. Radishes and cucumber can be flexibly replaced with seasonal vegetables like tomatoes or peppers.
The recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Simple” (publisher’s website) and is also available online at the Guardian.
Related Recipes
Vegetarian Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with Hash Browns (Sliced Meat Zurich Style, without the, you know, Meat)
A simple vegetarian version of the Swiss classic with a delicious sauce and tasty hash browns (rösti) on the side.
Mushroom Shawarma with Tahina Sauce, Tzatziki and Pita
Tastes like meat, but is actually vegan: shawarma with mushrooms!
Pasta with Savoy Cabbage-Lemon Cream Sauce
A very simple and very tasty pasta sauce
Recipe
Ottolenghi Oven Chips with Feta
Ingredients
Preparation Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Servings: 2
- • 800 g organic potatoes
- • 40 ml rapeseed oil
- • 1 tsp sea salt
- • 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- • 3 cloves of garlic
- • 20 ml olive oil
- • 100 g feta
- • 1 tsp dried oregano
- • 100 g romaine lettuce
- • 75 g cucumber
- • 40 g radishes
- • 15 g olive oil
- • 10 g lemon juice
- • Salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients
Servings: 2
Preparation Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
- • 800 g organic potatoes
- • 40 ml rapeseed oil
- • 1 tsp sea salt
- • 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- • 3 cloves of garlic
- • 20 ml olive oil
- • 100 g feta
- • 1 tsp dried oregano
- • 100 g romaine lettuce
- • 75 g cucumber
- • 40 g radishes
- • 15 g olive oil
Instructions
- 1 Thoroughly wash the potatoes and cut them unpeeled into wedges about 2 cm wide. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it and parboil the potato wedges for 8 minutes. Drain and shake them vigorously in a sieve so the surfaces roughen slightly — this helps create crispy edges later.
- 2 While still warm, toss the potatoes in a large bowl with rapeseed oil, sea salt and paprika powder until all pieces are evenly coated.
- 3 Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Arrange the potato wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet (preferably lined with baking paper). Bake for 40–50 minutes until golden brown and crispy, turning once halfway through.
- 4 While the potatoes are in the oven, prepare the salad: wash and dry the romaine lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces. Slice the radishes and cucumber into half-moons. For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Let the cucumber and radishes sit briefly in the dressing; add the romaine just before serving.
- 5 About 5 minutes before the end of the baking time, peel and thinly slice the garlic. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat and gently fry the garlic until pale golden, taking care not to let it darken.
- 6 Remove the finished potatoes from the oven and immediately drizzle them with the warm garlic oil. Sprinkle with crumbled feta and dried oregano. Return to the oven for 5 minutes so the feta softens slightly.
- 7 Serve the potatoes with the salad. Best enjoyed hot.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint: 1556 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 26 out of 59 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
The estimated emissions are therefore slightly better than the average of the recipes.
The difference between the potatoes and the feta is particularly striking: the potatoes make up almost two thirds of the ingredients by weight, but only about 10% of the CO2 footprint. The feta, on the other hand, accounts for only 8% of the ingredients but is responsible for 45% of the dish's emissions. The main reason for this is dairy farming, which is associated with high methane and CO2 emissions.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 0.2 | 160 | 65% | 10% |
| Rapeseed oil | 3.2 | 128 | 3% | 8% |
| Sea salt | 0.7 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| Paprika powder | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| Garlic | 0.5 | 4 | 1% | 0% |
| Olive oil | 3.2 | 64 | 2% | 4% |
| Feta | 7.0 | 700 | 8% | 45% |
| Oregano | 1.1 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| Romaine lettuce | 0.2 | 17 | 8% | 1% |
| Cucumber | 0.4 | 30 | 6% | 2% |
| Radishes | 0.2 | 8 | 3% | 1% |
| Olive oil | 3.2 | 48 | 1% | 3% |
| Lemon juice | 0.6 | 6 | 1% | 0% |
| Mustard | 1.7 | 5 | 0% | 0% |
| Salt | 0.7 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| Pepper | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Boil potatoes | 46 | 3% | ||
| Bake potatoes | 305 | 20% | ||
| Sauté garlic | 24 | 2% |
Instructions
- 1 Thoroughly wash the potatoes and cut them unpeeled into wedges about 2 cm wide. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it and parboil the potato wedges for 8 minutes. Drain and shake them vigorously in a sieve so the surfaces roughen slightly — this helps create crispy edges later.
- 2 While still warm, toss the potatoes in a large bowl with rapeseed oil, sea salt and paprika powder until all pieces are evenly coated.
- 3 Preheat the oven to 220°C fan. Arrange the potato wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet (preferably lined with baking paper). Bake for 40–50 minutes until golden brown and crispy, turning once halfway through.
- 4 While the potatoes are in the oven, prepare the salad: wash and dry the romaine lettuce and tear into bite-sized pieces. Slice the radishes and cucumber into half-moons. For the dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Let the cucumber and radishes sit briefly in the dressing; add the romaine just before serving.
- 5 About 5 minutes before the end of the baking time, peel and thinly slice the garlic. Warm the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat and gently fry the garlic until pale golden, taking care not to let it darken.
- 6 Remove the finished potatoes from the oven and immediately drizzle them with the warm garlic oil. Sprinkle with crumbled feta and dried oregano. Return to the oven for 5 minutes so the feta softens slightly.
- 7 Serve the potatoes with the salad. Best enjoyed hot.
Carbon Footprint
Carbon Footprint (2 portions): 1556 g CO₂e
This ranks it number 26 out of 59 recipes published on the blog so far in terms of estimated carbon footprint.
The estimated emissions are therefore slightly better than the average of the recipes.
The difference between the potatoes and the feta is particularly striking: the potatoes make up almost two thirds of the ingredients by weight, but only about 10% of the CO2 footprint. The feta, on the other hand, accounts for only 8% of the ingredients but is responsible for 45% of the dish's emissions. The main reason for this is dairy farming, which is associated with high methane and CO2 emissions.
Comparison of Ingredients
| Ingredients | Carbon footprint per kg | Carbon footprint for recipe | % of ingredients | % of CO₂ emissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 0.2 | 160 | 65% | 10% |
| Rapeseed oil | 3.2 | 128 | 3% | 8% |
| Sea salt | 0.7 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| Paprika powder | 1.1 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| Garlic | 0.5 | 4 | 1% | 0% |
| Olive oil | 3.2 | 64 | 2% | 4% |
| Feta | 7.0 | 700 | 8% | 45% |
| Oregano | 1.1 | 3 | 0% | 0% |
| Romaine lettuce | 0.2 | 17 | 8% | 1% |
| Cucumber | 0.4 | 30 | 6% | 2% |
| Radishes | 0.2 | 8 | 3% | 1% |
| Olive oil | 3.2 | 48 | 1% | 3% |
| Lemon juice | 0.6 | 6 | 1% | 0% |
| Mustard | 1.7 | 5 | 0% | 0% |
| Salt | 0.7 | 2 | 0% | 0% |
| Pepper | 1.1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Boil potatoes | 46 | 3% | ||
| Bake potatoes | 305 | 20% | ||
| Sauté garlic | 24 | 2% |