Potatoes in a new light

I was introduced to a friend of a friend yesterday, she said we would have a lot in common…….

I had planned on Sausages for dinner tonight and as it’s now no longer summer (in fact its bloody cold) I was leaning towards sausages and mash – add some full on grainy mustard we are happy campers – but its been a long week, clearing up after two poorly 3 year olds is like filling the kettle with a sieve. Less than inspired I was seriously considering a takeaway until, I saw this link my new friend had sent me.

Paul’s Mediterranean Potato transport of delight

He is of course a much more prolific blogger than I!

Sometimes its as simple as that – an easy recipe that just hits the spot – fired up I put away my purse and headed for the kitchen

- my take on "Paul style"

My amended list of ingredients

• Some rice bran oil - for frying
• Some olive oil  - for flavour
• Some sliced potatoes – about 3 – 5 mm thick – about 2 medium potatoes per serving, I guess. Add more if Greg pitches up
• A clove of garlic (or three) – chopped fine
• A little chopped chilli – I substituted a half teaspoon of jalapeno flakes (they add a great warmth that doesn’t put small children off)
• A large red onion, sliced - I used ordinary brown – I could tell you it’s because they caramelize in the oven and work well with the sausages ……
• A tablespoon of cumin seeds – toast them first – hot pan, five minutes
• A teaspoon of ground cumin or increase the toasted cumin and pound in pestle
• Some chopped black/kalamata olives – add more if you like, I will not get upset - don’t be upset I didn’t add any!
• A splosh of balsamic vinegar
• 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped or sliced  - or a tin of cherry tomatoes if you don’t have any fresh
• 1 or 2 whole peppers chopped (I started with 2 – remember to keep out of reach)
• A pinch of sugar - I forgot this!
• Some oregano – fresh is always a crowd-pleaser - dried is ok too!
• Some fresh parsley (send daughter up garden with a torch it gets dark early)
• A teaspoon of paprika (use sweet when feeding kids/hot if you want to ramp up the flavour)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sausages any that you like – we happened to have Porky Whites

Method (adjusted a tad from the original)

• Put the sausages in a pan with a little rice bran oil, start them cooking on a low heat, shake the pan from time to time. Put the oven on and place a heavy roasting tin in to get hot,as the oven heats up.
• Heat a large wok until it starts to shimmer (very hot)
• Add the oil – I use rice bran it has a really high smoke point and clean taste
• Add the chilli flakes and the potatoes cook for 5 minutes
• Throw in the onions and peppers lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften and the potatoes begin to colour up a bit this will take 2 or 3 minutes
• Throw in your garlic and your cumin
• Shake the pan to mix everything
• Add the tomatoes, the balsamic, the oregano, paprika and the parsley
• Cook  gently for a couple of minutes keep shaking the pan – the tinned tomatoes have a lot of juice, it mixes with the herbs and coats the veg
• Transfer the potato mix to the roasting tin – remember it will be hot so pour away from yourself to avoid being splashed by hot liquid.
• Return the roasting tin to the hot oven (about 200ºC) and cook for about 10 minutes then add the sausages, drizzle with a little olive oil and cook for a further 30 mins.
• I have adjusted the cooking times slightly from Paul’s version – this is to allow for the addition of sausages – I used chipolatas – if I had used ordinary sausages I would put everything in the oven at the same time.

Serve up and enjoy – its a full bodied dish that has some of the more robust flavours of summer. The warmth of the chillies combined with the paprika will leave you feeling very happy.

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