A Medley of Roasted Potatoes with Homemade Za'atar & Aleppo Pepper
Author Notes: 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 was inspired by Mediterranean & North African spices from my recent trip to Morocco & Turkey and brought back a suitcase full of spices back with me! - onetribegourmet - onetribegourmet
Food52 Review: True to her goal of making global cuisine accessible, onetribegourmet's inventive and delicious recipe introduces za'atar, a traditional Middle Eastern spice blend to crisp, oven-roasted potatoes. We're especially thrilled to have a blueprint for mixing our own za'atar, which would perk up just about anything, from roast chicken to scrambled eggs to a nice slab of grilled steak. Onetribegourmet notes that the spices can be ground, but we love the extra-crispy bites of potato that result from leaving them coarse. - A&M - A&M
Serves 6-8
Roasted Potatoes Seasoned with Homemade Za'atar & Aleppo Pepper
- 2-3 lbs of Potatoes, cut up, I used red & purple organic fingerling potatoes & golden round Buttercream variety
- 3-4 tablespoons Za'atar
- 2 tablespoons Aleppo Pepper (or to taste)
- juice of one lemon
- 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Homemade Za'atar Recipe
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons sumac
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- Please Note: You can grind the Za’atar in a coffee grinder for a finer texture. I left it course for this recipe.
- 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.
- This recipe is a Wildcard Contest Winner!
Tags: mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Side Dishes, stir fry, Vegetarian



about 1 month ago creamcheese
I guess this recipe is a little old now, but I just made it for a brunch I hosted and the potatoes were absolutely devoured. We luckily had just snagged some Aleppo pepper and had a jar of sumac we were looking to use so this worked out perfectly. Certainly will be making this again!
over 1 year ago fuhsi
Made this a couple of weeks ago and you have enlightened me to the possibilities of flavoring and roasting potatoes as an added dimension to this staple (once or twice/week) starch component.
Had never tried Za'tar or Aleppo pepper, and thanks for introducing that to the repertoire, too.
Your "good deed for the day":)!
over 1 year ago MissGinsu
Love za'atar. Love aleppo pepper. Can't wait to try them together!
Bet this would be killer on roasted eggplant, too.
over 1 year ago Marielleazar
As a Syrian Jew I'm used to heavy duty spices including za'atar.. Its one of my favorites especially on some labne with olive oil and a little paprika (try it) Love this recipe cannot wait to try it!!! I will definitely be posting some recipes on here . Show the world how us syrians from Brooklyn do it. You will not regret it.
about 2 years ago JayKayTee
My pantry is just not up to the ME challenge just yet so I had to use some substitutes. Used 4 parts to one sweet paprika to cayenne for the Aleppo and grated lemon rind for the sumac in the Za'atar. I enjoyed the results. This is a nice spicy twist on roasted potatoes.I really enjoyed the lemon in this.
over 2 years ago MamaLynn
OMG! This sounds amazing. I just picked up some Aleppo pepper from Penzey's as a holiday gift for myself! I agree - ME food is amazing, Claudia Roden is inspiring and spices make the best souvenirs when traveling. All the best for 2011~ Lynn
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thank you & Happy New Year Lynn!
over 2 years ago TXDjinn
Hmmm...I was thinking what kind of starch we were going to have with shortribs tonight and I'm going to go with this - I'm going to substitute some amazing ground ancho's I get from a deranged chef in Santa Fe, NM for the Harr al Haleb (how we say Aleppo Pepper in Arabic) but am definitely using the Za'atar I get from back home in Lebanon for our first dinner of 2011!
over 2 years ago TXDjinn
OK, just made this and did the following tweaks to it, I used a ground roasted Chimayo pepper instead of an Ancho - I thought the bag was an Ancho, I was wrong. I also included the zest of the lemon (why let it go to waste?) which added a nice, very subtle taste to the za'atar.
This is DEFINITELY a keeper and in arabic this would be "Batata bil Za'atar ou Harr"
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Hi TXDjinn, wow I love your idea to use Ancho & Roasted Chimayo pepper, excellent! I'm so glad the recipe turned out good for you! btw I Love Lebanese food! Thanks!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thank you everyone for your kind words!
over 2 years ago Sasha (Global Table Adventure)
What a simple, tasty spice blend! I always say spices are the best travel souvenirs. Nice work :)
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks Sasha! I always end up buying spices whenever I travel! :)
over 2 years ago hummingbirdap
I could live on potatoes, especially these!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks hummingbirdap!
over 2 years ago nutcakes
Sounds very good, I have all the ingredients and my Sumac is underused. I'm surprised if toasted sesame seeds won't burn in the oven that long.
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks nutcakes, sesame seeds were fine in the oven!
over 2 years ago Sagegreen
Congrats on the win. Great flavors. I love za'atar!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
thanks Sagegreen
over 2 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Big congratulations on the Wildcard win! I'm looking forward to trying this.
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks drbabs
over 2 years ago healthierkitchen
This sounds great - I love Aleppo pepper! congrats.
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks healthierkitchen! Aleppo pepper is full of flavor, love it!
over 2 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
Congratulations, I have both homemade za'atar and aleppo pepper
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks so much Kitchen Butterfly!
over 2 years ago fortheloveofyum
congrats! so very well deserved!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks Nadia, luv ya! xo
over 2 years ago Homemadecornbread
Hooray for you! Your homemade za'atar sounds great. I'm thrilled to see another fan of Middle Eastern cuisine. My favorite cookbook is the New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden. Looking forward to checking out your other recipes, onetribegourmet.
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Hi Homemadecornbread, I'm actually obsessed with ME cuisine right not and also love Claudia Roden. I have all of her cookbooks! Thank you! :)
over 2 years ago lapadia
Congratulations on your Wildcard, onetribegourmet! Sounds delicious, must purchase sumac and try...Happy New Year!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks lapadia and a very Happy New Year to you too! :)
over 2 years ago aargersi
Abbie is a trusted source on General Cooking.
This looks great! We will try it very soon! CONGRATS!!!!!
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks so much aargersi!
over 2 years ago gingerroot
Congrats on the Wildcard win! I can't wait to make these. Thanks for a great recipe.
over 2 years ago onetribegourmet
Thanks so much gingerroot!