Batata Harra! That’s not only fun to say but to eat as well! It’s one of the first things we always order at a Lebanese restaurant. And who wouldn’t? Crispy cubed potatoes tossed in garlic cilantro spicy sauce with a hint of tang from freshly squeezed lemon juice – sign this girl right up! In all seriousness, most restaurants fry the russet potato cubes and then toss them in the red pepper flakes and cilantro sauce – delicious but not fun when you need a vat of oil at home to fry them. And honestly, it’s not so great for the waistline, either. So instead, I’ve taken a page out of my garlicky extra crispy roasted potatoes side dish and gone ahead and boiled the potatoes a bit before adding them to a sheet pan and roasting them into little crispy nibbles of deliciousness. My recipe for Batata Harra is modeled after one of my favorite cafeteria-style Lebanese restaurants in town. It took me quite a while to figure out what made their potatoes so much better than all the ones I had made at home. And I found it! One little ingredient that I’ve rarely seen mentioned in Batata Harra recipes, but it honestly makes the dish for me!
Ingredients for Batata Harra
Potatoes: The potassium powerhouse! You can use russet potatoes or even Yukon gold potatoes for this appetizer. I like to use russet potatoes more often because they tend to get the crispiest in the oven. White potatoes will also work, but both white and Yukon gold potatoes don’t get as crispy in the oven – they make up for it in flavor, though!Baking soda: This is a little ingredient that I’ve added to my roasted potato recipes for years, thanks to Kenji. Adding baking soda to the water while boiling potatoes makes the water alkaline, which helps break down the surface of the potatoes. The broken-down edges crisp up in the oven as they roast and create the ultimate crispy roasted potatoes.Ghee or Oil: I like to use ghee for my Batata Harrarecipe as it provides the best flavor. You can also use any high-heat oil that is safe for roasting. Avocado oil or a high-heat olive oil blend would be my next options.Coriander Seeds: This is that little ingredient that I just couldn’t make Spicy Lebanese Potatoes without! It adds the perfect fragrance and fresh flavor to the dish. Even if you aren’t a fan of cilantro, give coriander a try! The taste is completely different and has notes of citrus that pair beautifully with the lemon in this dish.Garlic Cloves: You’ll need a handful of garlic cloves for this recipe. We’ll saute the garlic in the ghee with the spices and chili until it’s fragrant before we toss it with the potatoes.Red Pepper Flakes: The red chili flakes add just a tad bit of heat to the potatoesCilantro: You’ll need a handful of cilantro. Be sure to wash and dry the cilantro thoroughly before using it in the recipe. Lemons: You’ll need both the lemon zest and the lemon juice. You can try subbing the lemon juice with lime juice if you’d like but the lemon zest is what gives most of the flavor to the ghee that flavors the Batata Harra.
How to make Spicy Lebanese Potatoes
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