Breezy Sunday evening snack- Baked rosemary potatoes!

I recently discovered the herb Rosemary- Never had an opportunity to work with it much and when I did get an opportunity, I fell in love with this gorgeous herb! Rosemary is extremely high in Iron & Calcium- so all the more good reasons for me to get pally with this herb :)  Baby potatoes work great with rosemary and bring in the garlic and shallot twist to make an easy peasy snack!

Ingredients-

500 gms baby potatoes (unpeeled)
5 peeled shallots cut in slices or wedges
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
5-6 crushed garlic cloves
salt & pepper according to taste

How did I make it?

Preheat oven to 200 degree celsius. Throughly wash the baby potatoes and mix them with onions, olive oil, rosemary, vinegar and garlic. Toss well till the vegetables are well coated. Grease a baking pan and place the potatoes in the pan. Bake them for about 30 to 35 minutes till the potatoes are completely cooked. Once cooked, remove them from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve hot with chilli sauce!

Patatas Bravas

Inspired by Jamie's recipe, here is my take on patatas bravas...very popular spanish spicy appetizer! Patatas bravas are nothing but fried potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce. Ever since I tasted this dish, I was in hunt for a good recipe. Inspired by Jamie oliver's book, I finally made my own patatas bravas and it was perfect for the Friday night by the telly! Enjoy-

What do we need?

4-5 medium sized potatoes- peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
Fresh rosemary leaves
dash of paprika powder
1 tsp fennel seeds
salt to taste

For the bravas sauce-
1 onion finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
red chillies- 3 (deseeded and roughly chopped)
1 carrot (chopped finely)
fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp paprika powder
3 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (recipe requires sherry vinegar, couldn't get a hold of it and had to substitute balsamic vinegar- Use sherry vinegar, if possible)
ground black pepper
salt (according to taste)

How did I put together?

Boil the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes till they start to get tender. Make sure they do not lose their shape. Remove from gas, drain the water and allow the potatoes to cool down. Once the potatoes reach the room temperature, cut them into cubes or chunks. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Add the potatoes to the pan (with garlic and rosemary leaves) and cook them till they are golden all over. Transfer the potatoes, garlic and rosemary to a plate. Add a dash of paprika powder, fennel seeds and salt. Toss them all together until well coated.

For the sauce- Heat some olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook it for five minutes before adding the chillies, carrot and thyme leaves. Cook them on a low flame for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, paprika powder, salt and pepper. Bring it to boil and then turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes. The gravy should start getting thick and rich. Remove from gas, and allow it to cool. Use a mixer to blend the gravy to a smooth consistency sauce.

Serving suggestions-

Pour the sauce over the potatoes and toss them together (like I did). Alternatively, you can serve the sauce in a jug next to the potatoes in a bowl.

Tastes amazing! You know your recipe was a hit when you see an empty dish :) - Have a great weekend 

Patatas Bravas