I came across this interestingly titled recipe in a book called Good Cooking: The New Essentials by Jill Dupleix, an Australian born, London based cookery writer. I love Jill’s recipes and writing – they are simple, to the point, and are damn good. The benefit of being a well traveled writer is that you get to experience so much more out of life, and out of food. The magic happens when you as the author get to share these experiences with everyone else, thereby providing an opportunity for the reader to sample these global cuisines without ever having to set foot outside their home.
Baby potatoes will work exceptionally well here, but Jill uses regular potatoes that she slices thinly. The choice is yours.
Jill’s food works for today’s tastes. Her recipes are quick to prepare, ingredient lists are short and well selected, and her recipe ideas come from all corners of the world, giving you access to flavours from every culture. Any recipe you make will be a success, both from the cook and the eater’s point of view. And when she throws in a catchy recipe title, well, I’m definitely hooked.
If cherry tomatoes aren’t in season, don’t hesitate to use canned. This dish is versatile in that you can choose fresh or canned tomatoes, and it will be a success either way.
This recipe is based on a dish she sampled in an airport cafeteria in Rome, which she says has been a source of wonderful recipe ideas. Reading this reminds me that I should travel more. To Italy, specifically. If for no other reason than to sample the airport cafeteria food. She recommends serving this with fish or chicken, but you can also make it your main meal, vegetarian style.
I prep all of my ingredients, so that they’re ready to dump into the casserole of potatoes in a moment.
I honestly never connected the dots in terms of pairing potatoes with tomatoes – they are, after all, both from the same family of nightshade plants. This recipe enlightened me on the wonders of this vegetable pairing, and I’ve been making it regularly for years, since discovering it nearly a decade ago.
The Italian flavours of this dish really shine through, and go so well with any kind of main course meat you plan to serve.
This is an easy, straightforward dish to make, and the leftovers taste fabulous reheated the next day too. A little freshly grated Parmesan when serving wouldn’t be a bad idea…
This is Jill Dupleix' recipe from her book Good Cooking: The New Essentials.
Feel free to substitute canned tomato products if you're making this in the winter. This is a great side dish, year round.
I've also substituted one cup of chicken broth for the water, and that turned out exceptionally well.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes, peeled
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for the pan
- Sea salt and pepper
- 14 oz can chopped tomatoes (or 3 large fresh ones, chopped)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or 1 14 oz can of cherry tomatoes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Finely slice the potatoes and roughly layer over the base of an oiled roasting pan. (I use baby potatoes, and just halve them - it works equally well.)
- Add 1 cup water, season with salt and pepper, then cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Combine the canned tomatoes with the extra virgin olive oil, garlic, oregano, capers, half the chopped parsley, and sea salt and pepper.
- Remove the foil, and pour the tomato mixture over the potatoes.
- Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and scatter on top. (You can skip this step if using canned cherry tomatoes).
- Bake for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender and starting to crisp at the edges.
- Scatter with the remaining chopped parsley and serve.
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