Red Hot Roasties (Batata Harra)

The development of The Jewelled Kitchen has, I know, been a long process and a lot of work ^[1]. It was at an embryonic stage when I travelled on the Taste Lebanon ^[2] tour with Beth in 2011, when talk was of going to different parts of the Middle East on recipe research missions; it was much closer to completion when Beth got in touch at the end of 2012 wondering if I would road test some of the book’s potato recipes. Knowing Beth, and having experienced, at first hand, her cooking prowess, I was very happy to do so. This recipe – her version of the mezze dish, batata harra – and the burnt tomato jam to accompany it (below) are some of those I tested and very pleased I am to reproduce them here.

The dish features roasted potato chunks with an abundance of that classic Lebanese trio of lemon, olive oil and garlic, along with fresh coriander and chilli. Despite the name, these don’t – as is typical of Lebanese cuisine – possess a fiery heat, as the chillies called for are mild and are deseeded, though you could bump up the heat if you so desire, perhaps with the addition of some chilli flakes or with a hot paprika. This nominally serves four, although, as ever when it comes to potatoes in a roasted form, I could make serious inroads into this amount on my own.

The Summary:

Makes around 4 servings & takes approx. 30 min to prep + 45 min to roast the potatoes

You’ll need:

1kg potatoes, preferably a floury variety, peeled and chopped into approx. 4cm cubes
15g sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
80ml olive oil
1 handful coriander leaves, finely chopped, plus extra for sprinkling
1 bulb garlic (about 8 cloves), cloves separated, peeled and finely chopped
2 small, mild red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1 lemon

You’ll also need:

A large roasting tin – mine was around 24cm x 30cm and 4cm deep.

The Steps:

Preheat your oven to 200C and rinse the chopped potatoes under cold running water to remove surface starch.
Bring about 1l of water to the boil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the potatoes and the salt, allow the water to come back to the boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the edges of the potatoes start to soften.
Drain the potatoes, return to the pan, cover the pan with a lid or tea-towel and shake for about 30 seconds to rough up the edges of the potatoes. Leave covered with a tea-towel to absorb any steam.
Add the olive oil to your roasting tin and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until sizzling hot.
Remove the tin from the oven, add the potatoes and spoon over the oil to ensure they are well coated. Return to the oven for about 35-40 minutes or until lightly golden.
While the potatoes are roasting, prepare and mix together the coriander, garlic, chillies, and paprika. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
When the potatoes are lightly roasted, remove from the oven, toss with the coriander and garlic mixture and return to the oven for another 10 minutes or so, until crisp and golden.
Remove from the oven, transfer to a serving dish, squeeze over the lemon juice and sprinkle with chopped coriander. These are lovely served warm with some fried eggs and a generous amount of burnt tomato & chilli jam (recipe below).

The Variations:

I like to add some sliced spring onions to these before serving and, as suggested above, you could add more chilli heat with some chilli flakes or a hot paprika.

R☆5☆1

Burnt Tomato & Chilli Jam

This is Beth’s take on a sweet and savoury speciality from Marrakesh and, to be honest, merely knowing that it was from Marrakesh – a name which possesses an Arabian Nights allure – was enough to make me want to try this out. Knowing, now, what it tastes like is enough to make me want to make it again (and again).

The recipe itself couldn’t be simpler: tomatoes, onions, garlic and some fragrant others, all baked together for an hour or so, then blitzed and seasoned. Summer is, of course, a great time to make this, when the odds of getting a half-decent tomato hereabouts increase greatly, but even in the dead of winter, this recipe can do much to liven up even the sorriest of tomato specimens. And no matter when you make this, doubling up the amounts below to make a bigger batch is always a good idea.

The Summary:

Makes around 450ml & takes approx. 20 min to prep + 1 hour to cook

You’ll need:

1kg tomatoes, quartered (or cut into eighths if very large)
1 small red onion (around 100-125g), sliced into 5mm rings
2 red chillies, deseeded (optional) and thinly sliced
5 fat garlic cloves, crushed with the blade of a knife
5cm piece root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tblsp olive oil
0.5 tsp coriander seeds
0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tblsp clear honey, or to taste
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

You’ll also need:

A large baking tray – mine was around 24cm x 30cm – and a food processor or hand blender to blend the tomato jam.

The Steps:

Preheat your oven to 190C.
Mix together the tomatoes, onion, chillies, garlic, ginger, olive oil, coriander seeds and cinnamon and transfer to your baking tray. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced considerably and the mixture is starting to dry out. Shake the tray every so often and stir the contents to prevent sticking. Some of the edges of the tomatoes will burn, which adds to the characteristic flavour of the dish.
Transfer the cooked tomato mixture to a bowl and blitz with a hand blender to your desired consistency (or alternatively use a food processor). Add the honey and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Serve immediately – with the roasties above, with any kind of eggs, with flatbreads, cheeses or whatever else takes your fancy – or transfer to a sterilised glass jar, cover with a thin layer of olive oil and seal. You can keep the jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, topping up with oil after each use.

The Variations:

I think that some black mustard seeds, fried briefly in oil, might be a nice addition to the finished jam; or perhaps some cumin seeds, toasted in a dry frying pan until fragrant.