It's that time again! We love food, and we love trying all the different delicacies in the countries that we visit. As we haven't been travelling recently, we decided to bring the delicious food to our very own homes! Today, we will be making traditional Greek Patates Yahni or Πατάτες γιαχνί.
Patates yahni is a type of meal that are called lathera. These are typically vegetarian dishes where the ingredients are stewed in olive oil and tomato sauce. These are meals where quality ingredients are key, because there are so few of them, and they are treated so simply. This style of food is intended to be made from ingredients you can grow in your own garden and are Greek staples. Traditionally, patates yahni would be cooked slowly over an open fire, but it can also be made in your kitchen. We recommend baking a fresh loaf of bread to eat alongside your patates yahni! You can easily make this dish vegan by using vegan feta or leaving it off all together. Traditionally, the dish would not be eaten with cheese anyway. We tweaked this delicious recipe from Mia Kouppa - trust us, you need to give this one a try!
Image via My Greek Dish
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 medium sized potatoes
- 1 large carrot
- 1 cup passata or rough chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato tapenade
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp dry oregano
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives
Method
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In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic, sprigs of fresh rosemary and bay leaves. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the onion is translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
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Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot except for the Kalamata olives and oregano. Add enough water to just cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil.
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Once it comes to a boil, lower the temperature and cook over medium heat with the pot covered for approximately 20 - 30 minutes. Check the potatoes by piercing them with a sharp knife. The knife should slide into the potato easily.
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When the potatoes are cooked, add the Kalamata olives to the pot along with the oregano, and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes with the pot uncovered.
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Leave to stand for a minute and serve warm.