This comforting dish mimics the fall-apart potatoes that soak up the savory stewed meat juices in a Moroccan tagine, but you can also just think of it as a warm potato salad. Small golden potatoes are boiled until fluffy, then dressed with a combination of bright preserved lemons (plus their brine) and rich butter, which mellows their punch, to create a salty, creamy side. To make the dish dairy-free—or to serve it at room temperature without the fat setting—swap in ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil for the butter.
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What you’ll need
Large Pot
$55 $48 At Amazon
Colander
$11 At Amazon
Small Bowl
$15 At Amazon
Chef's Knife
$34.53 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
2
1
½
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are very tender and easily pierced with a paring knife, 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Drain and let cool 10 minutes.
Step 2
Lightly crush potatoes with your hands (or press with the bottom of a small bowl); transfer to a serving bowl.
Step 3
Add preserved lemon, brine, and butter to bowl with potatoes and toss until butter is melted and potatoes have soaked up dressing (they should taste extremely lemony). Add chives, dill, and lots of pepper and toss again evenly distribute. Taste potatoes and add more brine and season with more salt and/or pepper if needed.
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Reviews (15)
Back to TopI used larger, (much) older potatoes than called for, then probably cooked them too long, so this came out closer to mashed potatoes for me. Good flavor, but it also showed me how much salt I must used in my preserved lemons (!). All that to say: these were good, but after the first bowl, I hope to use the rest in a) potato bread (Joy of Cooking) and b) a super-old BA recipe for halibut pot pie (except, of course, I'll use salmon, since the former fish is spendy, even in Alaska).
Anna Broadway
Anchorage, AK
10/16/2022
This has been the potato salad of the summer for me. I love preserved lemons and it's great to have another way to use them - especially one that uses the flesh and not just the rind. I use oil rather than butter and it's so good. Everyone I've made it for has asked for the recipe.
Ashley
Portland, OR
8/22/2022
Nom nom, these were tasty. Made as written since it is my first time using my first batch of preserved lemons. I guess I will be making a new batch of preserved lemons every couple of months, as my husband about melted when he tried them. I think the water addition mentioned below would be great, especially if you kept your taters on the al dente side. I mushed mine a bit too much I guess, but it created this crave-able, ridiculous bunch of potato/lemon chunks at the bottom of the bowl, I couldn't stop eating them when I put away the very few leftovers, so maybe don't do that if you value your waistline.
Sarah
Delta, CO
4/6/2022
Simple and delicious! Was my first time cooking with preserved lemon and I don���t know if it was a flavor I liked… think next time I’ll sub in fresh lemon juice and zest, or chop up fried lemons. Loved the ease of preparation and flavor of the herbs and butter though!
SpatulaCity123
Los Angeles
3/31/2022
Fantastic! Very simple to put together and tons of flavor. I'm excited to finish the leftovers today and to make it again soon.
Tess
CT
3/28/2022
the lemon butter is genius - I pulled the pasta water trick and scooped up a bit of the potato starchy boiling water to emulsify the butter lemon sauce, it worked well. Was creamy and bright and fresh and vaguely potato salady..
Anonymous
Irvington, NY
3/22/2022
I added some canned chickpeas because I had not quite enough potatoes. It was amazing! and so easy.
Hannah B
Portland, OR
3/21/2022