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Instant Pot Greek Baby Potatoes, the classic Greek diner side dish, adapted for pressure cooking.
Ioannis Kapodistrias had a problem. The first leader of an independent Greece was faced with crop failures as the Little Ice Age dragged into the early 1700s. He had this newfangled tuber, the potato, that the Spanish brought back to Europe about a century before. It seemed like the way to feed his people. Potatoes are hardy, nutritious, and grow well under lots of different conditions.
But his people, like most Europeans, didn't trust potatoes. They thought it was a fungus brought over from the new world. And it's related to deadly nightshade - the devil's weed - it must be poison. Europe was decidedly anti-potato…even when the alternative was starvation.
According to legend, that's when Ioannis got creative. He ordered a shipment of potatoes to be unloaded in Nafplion, and kept on the docks under heavy guard. But, the guards had very particular instructions - let the potatoes get stolen. The lure of forbidden tubers was too much for the Greeks to ignore, and pretty soon the docks were picked clean. And that's how the humble potato was introduced to Greece.1
Recipe: Instant Pot Greek Baby Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Herbs
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Instant Pot Greek Baby Potatoes with Garlic, Lemon, and Herbs
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Description
Instant Pot Greek Baby Potatoes, the classic Greek diner side dish, adapted for pressure cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1½ pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes (aka new potatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Juice of ½ a lemon
Instructions
- Pressure Cook for 8 minutes with a quick pressure release: Pour 1 cup of water into an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. Add a vegetable steaming basket and fill the basket with the potatoes. Lock the pressure cooker lid. Pressure cook at high pressure for 8 minutes in an Instant Pot, electric pressure cooker, or stovetop PC (Use "manual" or "pressure cook" mode in an Instant Pot). Quick release the pressure, then unlock the pot, opening the lid away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Heat the oil, brown the potatoes, and toss with garlic and herbs: Carefully lift the vegetable basket full of potatoes and set it aside on a plate. Dump the water out of the pot, wipe clean, and return the pot to the Instant Pot base. Set the cooker to Sauté mode and pour in the olive oil. (Put a stovetop PC over medium heat.) Pour in the potatoes, and let them sit until they are browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the potatoes with the garlic, salt, and oregano, and toss to coat. Drizzle with the lemon juice and toss again to coat. Pour the potatoes into a bowl, scraping the garlic and herbs stuck to the pot onto the potatoes. Serve, and enjoy.
Notes
- The baby yukon gold potatoes from my local grocery stores are a consistent size, 1½- to 2-inches in diameter. That's the potato industry standard for "B-Size Potatoes". When I get significantly smaller potatoes (from my CSA box, or from a different grocery store, where they're 1-inch or less), I cut the pressure cooking time back to 5 minutes.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- Steamer basket
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup potatoes
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 1.1 g
- Sodium: 202.4 mg
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.5 g
- Protein: 2.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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- Ioannis was assassinated a few years later, for non-potato reasons. His successor, King Otto the first, was also a potato supporter. He made a point of serving potatoes at Palace feasts, to raise its profile. ↩
Chris says
Yummy, they were so good. I would make extra next time, they were so good.
Mike Vrobel says
Glad you liked them!
heather says
Love this recipe!!!! I've made it about 5 times. Always awesome!!
Heather says
These were delicious and very easy to make. I actually did use my Crisp Lid to brown them a bit. Definitely making these again!!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you!
Kailey says
Excellent! I am surprised how good and quick this recipe was. Thank you for sharing.
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
razzy 7 says
These look delicious Mike and will require almost no work. Those who have purchased a Mealthy Crisp Lid to use with their Instant Pot or other brand of pressure cooker, might use it to brown the potatoes when they're finished cooking.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!