These salt and vinegar roasted potatoes are halved new potatoes boiled in vinegar-infused water and then tossed with salt and oregano and roasted. Just before serving, they’re tossed with garlic and topped with feta cheese.
If you like your fries with plenty of salt and malt vinegar, or if you’re a fool for all things pickled, or if you’ve ever demolished a bag of your fave salt-and-vinegar chips in less time than it takes to inhale, you need to try this recipe. That’s what one of our recipe testers said upon trying these unconventional roasted potatoes. And she’s exactly right. They’re infused through and through with a subtle vinegary tang thanks to a quick boil in water spiked with vinegar. (Ingenious, no?!) Then they’re roasted until they boast a shatteringly crisp exterior and an interior that’s tender and creamy, sorta like the inside of a French fry. And if that’s not wondrous enough, scatter some crumbled feta and fresh dill on top. Sometimes it’s the side dish that makes the meal. This is one of those times.–Angie Zoobkoff
Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 pounds small new potatoes halved
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons sea salt plus more for seasoning
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill* (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot with the lid on, bring the water, potatoes, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons sea salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook until the potatoes are just starting to get tender but are still a touch firm in the center, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain the potatoes. (You can let the potatoes cool and then refrigerate them for up to overnight before proceeding. The texture that results will be even lighter and fluffier on the inside.)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain the potatoes. Carefully toss the potatoes with the olive oil, remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt, and oregano and arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet, cut side down. Roast until golden and crisp, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and toss with the garlic. If desired, top with the feta and dill. Add a pinch of salt, if you please. (In the unlikely event that these spuds aren’t polished off the first time around, or if you have enough wherewithal to make a double batch to ensure you have leftovers, they make for a delicious breakfast the morning after. Scrape off the dill or herbs prior to refrigerating and then crisp them in a hot skillet. Top with a fried or poached egg.)
Notes
*Herbed Salt and Vinegar Potatoes
If you’re not a huge fan of dill, flat-leaf parsley works well in its place. Or a mix of dill, chives, and mint can also be lovely. Or try whatever combination of herbs you fancy…and then kindly let us know in a comment below.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
You’ll be happy to have this recipe for salt and vinegar roasted potatoes up your sleeve. It makes perfectly cooked potatoes encased in crisp skin. The subtle vinegar, sharp feta, and buttery dill are great together. We had these potatoes with a side salad for a quick dinner on a weeknight. Leftovers were enjoyed for another weeknight dinner with a couple of sunny-side-ups and multigrain sourdough toast.
My potatoes were a bit large so I cut them in quarters. If you do this you’ll need to turn them on the baking sheet so that all sides get browned. If they are just cut in half as the recipe calls for, I think you can roast them cut side down and get nice, crisp potatoes without having to turn them.
There were no leftovers. Tom declared these to be fabulous, ate most of the bowl, and is still pestering me to not forget about this winning recipe.
These salt and vinegar roasted potatoes are awesome! I loved them so much that I had to get my family to move them to the other end of the table so that I’d stop eating them. The addition of vinegar to the water for boiling the potatoes gave them the distinct (and addictive) tang of salt and vinegar potato chips without being overwhelming. I thought the addition of the feta and dill rounded out the dish perfectly. I’ll make this recipe again and again.
These salt and vinegar roasted potatoes are so good! And quite versatile—I could see these being a great side to so many dishes. I boiled the potatoes and kept them overnight in the fridge so they were ready to roast the next night.
My only note is that the dill is a bit overpowering. I love dill but I’d cut it in half next time. I think some of the other herbs that were suggested would be great as well.
If you love salt and vinegar potato chips, this is the recipe for you. Boiling the potatoes in the brine gives them a nice light vinegar taste that isn’t overpowering or overly tangy in the way that salt and vinegar potato chips can be.
Tossing the hot potatoes in garlic was a nice touch, something I may start doing with all my roasted potatoes because it gives you all the garlic flavor without the burnt notes that sometimes happen when you roast at high temps.
I love dill, but if you’re not a fan, choose other herbs because it has a very strong flavor and aroma. The whole house smelled of dill just from lightly chopping it. The feta is a nice addition but not totally necessary.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable side dish that packs a lot of flavor for very little work and effort.
Yes, yes, and yes! This is a simple, terrific way to prepare potatoes. We read the recipe and started right in to prepare for Sunday breakfast. Deeee-licious.
The dish was ready to eat in less than an hour with about 15 minutes of hands-on time. We boiled the potatoes in the water-vinegar mixture for exactly 10 minutes. During roasting, we didn’t stir at all but ended up extending the roasting time to 40 minutes.
This is such a good way to prepare roasted potatoes that next time we will certainly double the recipe. We’ll try it with mint and parsley in place of dill, too.
This method for roasting potatoes works quite well. You’ll get a bit of a briny kick from the vinegar, which marries well with the garlic, herbs, and feta.
I used flat-leaf Italian parsley rather than dill, which worked very well.
We eat a lot of potatoes—baked, mashed, steamed, and roasted. I have used parboiling for the last few years as I think it makes for a tastier, creamier-centered roast potato. But I never thought to use vinegar in the boiling water or rest them overnight. WOW. It makes for a great roast potato. My wife really loved these. She doesn’t cook but she felt they were way better than our usual potatoes.
I used a combination of half baby Yukon Gold and half baby Red potatoes. I rested the parboiled potatoes in the refrigerator overnight which makes for easier prep on the day of if you’re preparing a meal for company. We served it with a rack of lamb and sautéed haricot verts for a really delicious and not difficult meal for company.
I liked the feta and dill and garlic, but I could eat these every day with nothing but a little salt and pepper. I think I’ve found my new recipe.
We used leftovers to make a hash with a slice of cooked bacon, chopped, and fried eggs. It could be done on Thanksgiving after the turkey comes out to rest.
With fresh dill in the house (our love for roasted potatoes is always on hand), this recipe was a given. Easy to shop for and easy to put together, this roasted potato dish was elevated by one single step: initially boiling the potatoes in a vinegar and water solution. No joke. These potatoes had the amazing flavor of that bag of the best salt-and-vinegar potato chips that you just can’t seem to put down. Seriously. We couldn’t stop eating these potatoes.
These were perfectly brined. That inherent vinegar flavor was amazing. And you must use sea salt! Not kosher salt but flaky sea salt. It sticks to these potatoes like butter. I loved the addition of the dried oregano with the creamy and salty feta on the warm potatoes and the fresh dill. No other herb would do better here. Parsley and/or chives would do, but something about the fresh taste of the dill with the sea salt and the feta was amazing.
In terms of the recipe itself, the only thing I’d suggest altering is the addition of the raw, minced garlic to the potatoes after they are cooked. I am a HUGE garlic lover, but I am tempted to add the garlic in the last 2 minutes of the potato roasting time to just cook it a touch.
I did cool and refrigerate the boiled potatoes for about 2 hours before roasting them to golden perfection. I did toss them once about 15 minutes into cooking to allow the browning to happen on all sides.
Such a unique and wonderful roasted potato dish! I’ve never seen this method before, but the results were perfectly vinegary, perfectly salty, and perfectly browned. Yum.
The servings were for up to 6, but I’m pretty sure between the 2 of us, we only left a couple of servings for leftovers.
Double-cooking potatoes is a magic trick that pays off multiple pleasures over the effort. Soaking the potatoes in a brine infuses them with a tanginess that will make you rethink ever doing it in plain water again. Cutting them in half makes roasting them even easier than smashing them, and it works quite well with new red potatoes if you prefer them as we do. Since the new red potatoes were slightly waxier than usual potatoes, I gave them 12 minutes of precooking and the roasting took about 45 minutes. To do it in the time suggested I think 450℉ would work better.
The cheese is just enough and a light hand with the dill and mint made this a great side dish. Leftovers can be reheated in the oven or a cast iron pan—though if you’re planning leftovers you might reserve the cheese and dill until serving unless you like the crunchy results of roasting the crumbled cheese. I reserved half for a second day and reheated them in the oven but I think a cast-iron skillet would be great as well.
These potatoes were excellent—crisp, salty, and covered in feta. Boiling them in vinegar-spiked water is a stroke of genius that adds delicious flavor and a crisp bite when roasted. I left the potatoes in the fridge overnight before roasting as the author suggested; I’m not sure how much it changed them but it was easy enough to do with a little forethought.
I really liked this dish straight out of the oven but I have to say that I also tried the suggestion of adding a fried egg to the leftovers the next morning and that was even better. My only recommendation for the recipe is to be careful with the salt; the feta is salty enough that I wouldn’t need much more.
This is another recipe made even better by my farmers market—the small new potatoes, garlic, and fresh dill all were fresh from the market. Everyone agreed they could eat a lot of these.
They’re quick to make. I used big cloves of garlic, a generous 1/2 cup chopped dill, and an equally generous 1/2 cup feta. I chose Bulgarian feta, made from sheep’s milk, and the creamier and less salty of the varieties. The dill and feta are so lovely paired together.
I didn’t (yet) try the leftovers fried up for breakfast, but we thought about adding a bit more cheese and calling it breakfast minus the fried egg. Serving 4 to 6 seems reasonably accurate, but if you want enough for those breakfast leftovers, I’d make a double batch!
Originally published December 12, 2018
