Maltese Roast Potatoes are quite different from the usual Sunday "roasties" we get here in the UK. For a start, the potatoes aren't par-boiled in large chunks, but sliced finely. These are incredibly popular and in our family we almost have to fight to the death for the last crunchy. Most of the time slices of thickly cut meat or chicken pieces will be laid underneath so that they poach along with the potatoes. Normally a lot of salt and pepper is used along with a little curry powder, but my mother's variation uses powdered vegetable stock, so I have omitted the salt here.Patata fil Forn (Maltese Roast Potatoes) - Serves 4 large portions
Ingredients:
1 large onion, sliced in to rings
4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced, lengthways into 5mm rounds
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons powdered vegetable stock
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons of oil
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
2. Layer the base of a baking dish with a layer of half the onions, over this layer half the potatoes. Sprinkle with half the garlic, stock, pepper, curry powder and drizzle a tablespoon of oil over the top.
3. Repeat with the second layer.
4. Slowly pour in some water to just come up with the bottom layer of the potatoes (about 5 - 10 mm).
5. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes until the top layer is golden brown and most of the water has evaporated. Serve with your usual roast, stews, or even between a couple of slices of bread with your favourite chutney (great for when you have left overs!)
8 comments:
Mmmmmmmm this looks good, I'm printing it off as we speak! Thanks for sharing :)
Fantastic, glad you liked it. :)
Oh, I am liking the addition of curry powder and also the layering. Interesting idea, I intend to see if I can also provoke a dinnertime death fight over the last slice at home. Soon.
*cackles and strokes her cats* Converting everyone to our ways! ;)
The bigger reason why they're cooked like this, is so you can cook the meat in the base in one dish, since up until recently (and in some villages, still happens) most people would cook the roasts at the bakers once in the wood ovens were done baking bread for the day. Saved space and money if you only had one dish for a whole family.
ooeer love the look of that.
Am really loving the sound of this as often do potatoes baked like this but never thought of adding curry powder before!
A lot of Maltese cooking feature curry powder, but usually it's an underlying flavour, so you get a hint of it. Unfortunately, there are no actual curries in Maltese cooking, though it is being introduced introduced through the new Indian restaurants that are slowly popping up (though they're more for the benefit of the English tourists rather than the locals).
(Curry powder in Malta was actually introduced by the English when it became part of the Queen Victoria's British Empire).
This recipe looks delicious , I will be trying it tomorrow !
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