A Medley of Roasted Potatoes Seasoned with Homemade Za?atar & Aleppo Pepper{A Perfect Side Dish for Thanksgiving}

I don’t know about you but in my family we always make two separate potato side dishes for our Thanksgiving Dinner. Mashed potatoes are a must but a roasted potatoes side dish is  always present on the menu. I think my mom started making a roasted potatoes for my dad who is not too fond of mashed potatoes. Not yours truly, I can live on mashed potatoes, love the creamy, buttery mashed spuds.

Even though I love the mashed spuddy goodness, I have grown to love roasted potatoes as well. So this year I am in charge of a roasted potato side dish for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I started thinking about this roasted potato side dish and wanted to give it some unique flavors. I wanted to give my roasted potatoes a One Tribe Gourmet touch and wanted it to be the best potato dish anyone had ever had. I’m ALL about using the best  ingredients in my recipes, I have been known to drive for hours so I can buy that one perfect ingredient. I know I’m crazy, but I’m afraid there’s no cure for my madness.

I knew I wanted to use a few different varieties of gourmet potatoes. I used organic purple & red French fingerling potatoes, also I used a golden round variety called, Buttercream. For the seasoning of the potatoes, I started thinking about Middle Eastern flavors. I was in Morocco & Turkey this past June and brought back a suitcase full of spices from Fes Medina and The Spice Bazaar in Istanbul.

I started to think about one of my favorite Middle Eastern spice mix called Za’atar. I made a homemade version of  Za’atar spice mixture of sumac, dried thyme, sesame seeds & sea salt. I wanted to give my roasted potato side dish a spicy taste so I decided to add Aleppo pepper, a chili pepper originates from northern Syria, near the town of Aleppo, which is considered one of the culinary meccas of the Mediterranean. It has a moderate heat level with some fruitiness and mild, cumin-like undertones, with a hint of a vinegar, salty taste. I also added fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil to the potatoes & roasted them on a high heat for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown.