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These Lebanese potatoes are hella flavorful and made the exact way I WISH batata harra always were, but they never really are. So often, despite people telling you they are, they just aren't that crispy, or spicy, but there's a few rad tricks I applied to this recipe that I picked up over the course of several decades working in restaurant kitchens that make them insanely better than any I've tried.
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Batata harra translates to "spicy potatoes," which is technically accurate, I guess, but undersells these pretty darn modestly. Crispy, golden, loaded with garlic and herbs, and hit with a spice lineup that includes smoked paprika, whole cumin seeds, Aleppo pepper, and sumac, all fused right into the craggy surface while they roast. Calling them "spicy potatoes" is like calling a Lebanese lentil soup "bean water" or vegan shawarma "seasoned food stuff."
The real magic that makes this recipe extra rad is the baking soda water parboil followed by the roughing up the surface of each potato pieces before roasting. That starchy, craggy exterior crisps up in the oven to the point where you will genuinely see every plain roasted potato you have ever eaten wearing a bite-size dunce cap and looking forgettable in a corner.
Then, there's one more trick- NOT ruining the crispiness of the dish by adding lemon juice, and instead, we will get some acidity from sumac which will not wreck all the insane texture we carefully worked to build. Deal?
Wait actually, I lied. TWO more tricks- one being that we salt these at the end so they don't dry out while roasting and lose their inner fluffy potato souls.
Then a wee mountain of fresh cilantro and parsley hits those taters while they are still hot, and the kitchen smells so good that people start circling before you even plate it.
I knowwww. It seems like a lot, but actually this recipe is crazy-easy. It's been pretty meticulously formulated to yield the absolute best Lebanese potatoes that ever crossed the finish line of your lips.
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🥰 Why you'll adore this Lebanese spicy potatoes recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: My Middle Eastern recipes don't ever include a single bit of animal based stuff. And it's one of the gluten-free vegan recipes, any old food freak will get down with, no questions.
🥔 Crispy in a Way That Feels Illegal: You boil these with baking soda, shake them around in a bowl like you are mad at them, and then roast them until the outsides shatter when you bite in. Proper 'tater ASMR right here.
🌶️ Spiced, Not Just Spicy: Smoked paprika, cumin seeds, coriander, Aleppo pepper, crushed red pepper, AND sumac. That is 6 spices deep, for actual flavor before fire.
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🌶️ Batata Harra Ingredients
The Potatoes
Yukon golds are the best weapon of choice for this. They crisp up on the outside while staying creamy in the middle, which is the whole gosh darn point. Peel and dice them into about 2 cm. (almost an inch). Red skin potatoes are a solid swap if your store is out of yukons. Russets technically work but they aren't my first choice for this. Better to save them for stuff like dairy-free mashed potatoes.
Baking Soda
Half a teaspoon in the boiling water raises the pH enough to break down the outer layer of the potatoes, creating a starchy paste on the surface that turns into serious crunch in the oven.
Cumin Seeds
Whole cumin seeds, not ground, because they pop between your teeth when you bite in and that little burst of flavor is everything. They bring a toasty, earthy warmth that anchors the brighter spices. If ground cumin is all you have, use ½ teaspoon and call it a day. And if you really wanna go off, the wild mountain cumin seeds from Burlap and Barrel are stupid good in this.
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Aleppo Pepper Flakes
Fruity, mild heat that builds slow instead of slapping you upside the head immediately. The crushed red pepper in this recipe handles the actual fire, Aleppo and paprika handle the complexity.
Gochugaru (the stuff you would use to make a batch of vegan kimchi) is your closest swap if you cannot find it. Got a whole bag and no clue what else to do with it? Roasted red pepper hummus, ezme, muhammara, borani banjan, and roasted cauliflower steaks will all happily take it off your hands.
Sumac
Instead of hitting the potatoes with lemon juice, which makes them instantly no-longer crispy, I knew I needed to add a dimension of acidity using dry ingredients. Since this is a Middle Eastern recipe, sumac is the absolute winner for that. Otherwise, a good choice would be anchur, the ground dried green mango powder used in Indian recipes such as aloo gobi and chana dal.
If you buy a bag of sumac and need ideas, makdous, pearl couscous salad, Moroccan carrot salad, and cranberry ezme all use it.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Batata Harra with Amba and Tahini
Drizzle these with thinned-out tarator and then go feral with a swirl of amba and a little zhoug on top. Tangy, pickled, green, herby chaos happening all over one pan of potatoes, and somehow it works so well it should be studied by a world renowned science guy. Not Bill Nye, specifically. Perhaps his degenerate homie Beakman is available.
Harissa Batata Harra
Toss the roughed-up potatoes with a tablespoon of harissa before they roast, so it bakes right into the crust and then instead of the spices mentioned in this recipe, just use a proper big spoonful of baharat. If you already have harissa carrots, harissa chickpeas, or harissa hummus on repeat in your kitchen, congrats, you have a problem, and this recipe is about to make it worse.
Indonesian Spicy Potatoes
Sambal goreng kentang is an Indonesian version of this same sort of thing (except fried instead of baked). They have tons of bird's eye chilies, lemongrass and other intense flavors you will freak out about.
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📖 How to make Batata Harra
The potatoes do a quick boil, get roughed up in a bowl, then roast until they are golden and crispy while the spices fuse into every craggy edge. Follow the steps and tips below, or jump to the recipe card if you just need the numbers.
Step One
Sim Simmer, Who's Got the Keys to my Bimmer?
Set the oven to 425°F (220°C).
Add the diced potatoes to a large pot and cover them with water. Stir in the baking soda. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook for just 6 minutes until the potatoes are barely tender.
Step Two
Purple Drain:
Pour off the water and let the potatoes sit for a few minutes to cool and release any remaining moisture.
Step Three
My Potato Shake Brings All the Boys to the Yard:
Move the potatoes to a large bowl and add the olive oil. Set a plate on top and shake the bowl hard for 8-10 seconds, tossing and banging the potatoes around to scuff up their outsides.
Step Four
Roastbusters:
Spread the potatoes across a parchment paper lined baking pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
Step Five
Garl's In Charge:
Take the pan out and carefully flip the potatoes. Scatter the garlic, paprika, cumin seeds, coriander, Aleppo pepper, crushed red pepper, and sumac over the top.
Step Six
Bake to the Future:
Slide the pan back into the oven and roast for another 15-18 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and the garlic has toasted but not burned.
Step Seven
Herb Your Enthusiasm:
Pull the pan out, season with salt to taste, and scatter the minced cilantro and parsley over the top before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
These potatoes go with basically everything, but a few things really seal the deal. Cue the "Here Comes the Bride" song:
Obviously, other Syrian bangers like yalanji and fattoush salad are going to be clear winners.
A big scoop of toum on the side makes a hyper great creamy garlic dip for these taters. But if you don't really want to kill Dracula just by eating potatoes, a few other tasteful Middle Eastern condiments you could serve these with are Lebanese baba ganoush, matbucha, beet hummus, or harissa hummus.
Sometimes I rock these potatoes out at room temperature as a topping to a salad. A few choices are shirazi salad, tabbouleh, and kisir if you want something a bit more filling.
👉Top tips
- Rough Them Up Good: This is not a cute little decorative step, this is legally sanctioned potato violence. Cover the bowl, shake it like it insulted your mother, and don't lose a minute of sleep over a few busted edges, or smaller pieces. Just don't let them boil too long first, or instead of crispy potatoes you get potato soup and a real bad afternoon at your potato therapist's office.
- Give Them Space on the Pan: Cram these potatoes together and they will steam each other into sad, soggy little blobs. Nope. Spread 'em out, grab a second pan if you are multiplying the recipe. This is the hill I hear Mr. Potatohead will die on, get buried on, and probably haunt as a 'tater-ghost still yelling about it.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
You can, but you lose the baking soda trick and the roughing-up step, which are what give these potatoes their extra-over-the-top hit-yourself-over-the-head-with-a-frying-pan crunch. Raw-to-oven potatoes roast fine (although they will need about 10 minutes extra time in the oven), but they will not have that shatteringly crispy exterior.
🧊 In the Fridge:
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They will lose some crispiness in the fridge, which is just the nature of cooked potatoes and cold air being enemies.
🔥 Oven Reheating:
Spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer and reheat at 425°F (220°C) for 8 to 10 minutes until they crisp back up.
💨 Air Fryer Reheating:
Honestly the fastest way to bring these back from the dead. Toss them in the basket in a single layer and air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, giving the basket a shake halfway through. They come out crispier than the oven method and in half the time, so if you own an air fryer, use it!
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Batata Harra Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced 2 cm.
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro minced
- ¼ cup parsley minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Stir in the baking soda. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for just 6 minutes until the potatoes are barely tender.
- Drain the potatoes, and let them cool and drip dry for a few minutes.
- Transfer the diced potatoes to a large bowl along with the olive oil. Place a plate over the bowl and bang the potatoes around in the oil for 8-10 seconds, shaking the bowl to rough up their outsides.
- Transfer the potatoes to a parchment paper lined baking pan. Roast for 20 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully turn the potatoes. Sprinkle with the garlic, paprika, cumin seeds, coriander, Aleppo pepper, crushed red pepper and sumac.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes until the potatoes are crisp, but the garlic has not burnt.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt to taste and minced cilantro and parsley before serving.
Notes
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Maggie says
Loved these potatoes! First time trying the boil and then bake method. So good!