Sep 24

Sep 24 Potato and tomato stew w/ garden herbs

A week ago I did a poll to ask you what kind of vegetables you struggle with and potato was mentioned a few times. In May we went to this lovely vacation stay in Puglia and one of the owners made us this potato and tomato stew, I made my own version the next day and ever since I’m obsessed and I have this at least once a week. No kidding! I usually eat this on it’s own with a side salad, cause I love potatoes. But it’s a great side dish or make different kinds of small plates of food to have like a tapas style dinner. Either way you’re going to LOVE this!

As you can see from the photo above I served this stew in a very traditional Apulian terra cotta pot. Carmine , the owner of the vacation house we stayed at and who made us these potatoes, actually made them in these pots. He said to chuck everything in put it over a a very low heat and let it cook for 40 minutes to an hour. The result; the most soft, flavorfull potatoes I’ve ever had. With that said, you absolutely don’t need these pots to make this recipe, a regular pan, like I used works well too.

On to the recipe. You don’t need any fancy ingredients for this one. A humble potato, white onion, tomato and fresh herbs go a long way. First thing I did was frying up the onion with the herbs in lots of olive oil for a few minutes. Then I added the potatoes, tomatoes and water. Seasoned with salt and the only thing left to do is let it simmer. I love recipes like these that you can almost forget about them, apart from the occasional stir to prevent burning ofcourse.

So if you love potatoes like I do, scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe

This recipe served about 2 people as a main dish or 4 as a side

Ingredients

700-1kg of Cubed potatoes, firm cooking kind like (these are a few variaties that work; annabelle, Ballerina, Jazzy, Lady Christl, Musica, Nicola, Regina, La Vie en Emanuelle)
2 Roughly chopped white onions
500 gr Ripe fresh tomatoes or tomato passata or canned peeled tomatoes
a handful garden herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano
olive oil
salt and pepper
water

How to

Preheat a good amount of olive oil in a frying pan and add the herbs and onions.
Cook down for a few minutes until fragrant.
Add the potatoes and tomatoes.
Cook for another minutes stirring everything together.
Add enough water so the potatoes are just covered.
Season with salt and pepper and leave to simmer with a lid on for about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure to stir every now and then to prevent burning.
After 40 minutes see if the potatoes are cooked through and almost fall apart once you put a fork into them. If not cook a little longer.
Keep an eye on the water level, if the potatoes get to dry before they are ready add some more water to it. The potatoes should be moist and saucy but not soupy.
Season one more time with salt and pepper and serve.
Buon appetito!