Spicy Warm Potato Salad

Serve this salad on its own as a side dish, or as part of a mezze platter of quickly prepared things such as homemade houmous, slow-roasted tomatoes, a rocket or other green salad, smoked aubergines or just a plate of grilled peppers, doused in lemon juice, olive oil and crushed garlic. Or double the quantities for a more substantial meal. You need a floury potato such as King Edward, all the better to absorb the dressing with. Serve warm, with a slab of feta cheese, which you cut into thin morsels to place on top of each potato slice. Serve with tiny dabs of harissa.

Serves 2

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into slices about 1cm thick
3 tbsp olive oil, quite green and rough
1 tbsp coriander, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of paprika
1⁄2 tsp cumin seeds
To serve:
olive oil for frying
2 or more flour tortillas
feta cheese
harissa

1. Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until they are very soft: almost, but not quite, to breaking point. Drain well.
2. Put them in a bowl and pour over the olive oil, add the coriander and season with salt and pepper. Mix very gently.
3. Lay the potato slices flat on a plate and pour the olive dressing they were just mixed in on top. Sprinkle with paprika.
4. Toast the cumin seeds for a few seconds in a dry frying pan and let them be your finishing touch.
5. To serve, make a quick imitation of a real Arabic bread – melawah – that is difficult to find and notoriously difficult to make (or so I have always been told). Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and fry the tortillas for about 30 seconds on either side. Serve with the feta cheese and harissa.

Recipe from Cranks Fast Food by Nadine Abensur

home | vegetarian recipes | recipe books | cookery classes | about nadine | links | site map