bacon fat crispy potatoes with garlicky kale and lemon-mint crème fraîche.
a surprisingly quick and easy side dish made with crispy-rich bacon pieces and topped with a refreshing lemon mint sauce, perfect for springtime suppers.
Serves: 2-4 Cook time: 20 minutes
It’s been so long since I’ve been excited about a recipe- I mean, really excited. Any food is enough to make me happy, but certain recipes just.. feel good.
If you’re searching for your “happy place” recipe, I promise this is it. I developed it mindlessly one night while putting together a simple chicken-and-potatoes dinner and realized quickly that I had to write the recipe down. And, quickly after that, realized I had to share it.
I think this dish is extremely straightforward, especially if you are skilled with a cast iron and know a thing or two about potatoes. If you don’t have a cast iron, no worries- you might just run into a few things that make this a little less fluid:
First- frying the bacon. It’s extremely easy on a seasoned cast iron because it’s sort of a built-in non-stick. If you’re using a skillet that doesn’t quite work that way, add a tiny bit of shortening or oil when the bacon starts sticking. Don’t drown it, you just want enough to keep it from burning onto your skillet.
Second- crisping those potatoes. The forté of cast iron. You have all that bacon flavored fat in there and the hot iron will crisp the potatoes with no problems. If you are using a non-stick skillet or stainless steel, creep the heat up so the potatoes can still get wicked hot- you should still be able to get a good crisp!
There’s a few more helpful hints below, like softening the potatoes before cooking them. Promise, this is so easy, and perfect to make after a big brunch- save your bacon grease for dinner and use it on these potatoes :) Enjoy!
bacon fat potatoes ingredients
bacon: You can really use any bacon here, whether it’s the fancy stuff at the meat counter or a package in the refrigerator section. I used Jimmy Dean thick sliced, which is on the cheaper end and works perfect. Thick, fatty slices will afford you more grease to cook the potatoes in, so don’t be shy with choosing a nice bacon! You can also make-ahead or use leftover grease from breakfast by pouring the hot grease carefully into a heat-proof container (think: a soup can) and reheating it like butter over heat when ready to cook.
potatoes: You can use gold, red, purple, or a medley, like I did! I love the medley because it’s pretty, and mostly for no other reason. Yellow potatoes will be the softest, and red the starchiest- or most firm. I find purple to need the most cook time. You’re going to use the entire bag and halve them so that inside part crisps up- it’s perfect, like a crispy french fry. The secret is microwaving first- yup, that easy! Toss in the microwave to soften so that the skillet can do the crisping- and don’t worry, there’s no loss of flavor doing it this way.
thyme: I really like thyme and chose it because it goes with potatoes and lemon so well- but you can swap for rosemary or even chives, if desired! You can use fresh or dried here, both work the same way.
garlic: Since this dish is so cast-iron friendly, I decided to slice and crisp the garlic cloves, too. So you get these little, chip-like pieces of garlic that are so flavorful mixed into the kale and potatoes. You can definitely mince, if preferred, but watch closely for burning.
kale: Kale has a special way of being soft and crispy all at once, which is perfect for this sort of dish. If kale’s not your thing, you can use spinach as an easy swap. You can also omit the wilted greens and top with arugula for a more fresh version!
crème fraîche: Sort of like yogurt with a sour taste. You can substitute greek yogurt easily in this recipe if you don’t have access to crème fraîche. I would warn you away from using sour cream, it will be too sour with the mint and lemon- but the potatoes would taste delicious with plain sour cream anyways :)
lemon: Helpful hint, since all lemons are different sizes: stir in a little bit at a time until you reach desired consistency and flavor. This will help you avoid over-lemoning.
mint: Super refreshing, and I promise, subtle enough you’ll only notice that something tastes amazing. Mixing the mint into the cream dulls the flavor a bit, so don’t be shy with adding mint leaves. If you love mint, it works really well with this dish, so add a whole sprig!
bacon fat potatoes pairing options
This is intended as a side dish for dinner, but don’t let that stop you from eating it for breakfast (I mean, bacon..potatoes. Add an egg and it’s a hash)
reverse-seared steaks
roasted asparagus
seared scallops
creamy tuscan chicken
kale caesar salad
baked chicken thighs
sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon