Batata Harra (Lebanese Spicy Potatoes)
| December 13, 2011 | Posted by Nada under Recipes |
I had a very elaborate post planned for today, but this silly little thing called life just had to get in the way.
A flurry of job applications, meetings and a workout got the best of me, and it’s now the end of a very long Monday. Since I don’t want blogging to be a chore, I’ll relay today’s post for another day. In the meantime, I thought I’d share another recipe from my Lebanese feast extravaganza a couple of weeks ago. A few people asked for this on twitter, so here is my take on Batata Harra or spicy potatoes (not to be confused with batata bilkozbara - garlic and coriander potatoes).
This was one of the few dishes that had zero leftovers on the night in question – because seriously, who doesn’t like potatoes? Moreover, who doesn’t like spicy, fragrant, coriander and lemon infused sweet potatoes?
Nobody, that’s who.
Batata Harra (Lebanese Spicy Potatoes)
Serves 4 (as a hot mezze)
- 4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes – cubed*
- 1 small bunch of fresh coriander/cilantro – chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper – roughly chopped
- 3 large cloves of garlic – crushed or finely chopped
- 1 medium green chilli – deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 heaping tsp of cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 T of oil for roasting (coconut, canola or olive oil would all work well in this)
- Whisk all the ingredients to create a marinade for the potatoes.
- Place potatoes in a roasting dish with cooking oil, then pour the marinade mixture and coat evenly.
- Season with salt and pepper then roast at 220 C for 20-25 minutes or until crispy, stirring once in between.
As easy as pie and a guaranteed winner with party guests starving students. These potatoes pack a serious punch but you can up/tone down the spice factor to your preferences without compromising the authenticity of the dish as the rest of the flavours hold their own.
Before I bid you adieu, I’d just like to say thanks to everyone who commented on Friday’s post! If you haven’t already I recommend you check it out – quite a wealth of information on home remedies thanks to everyone’s contributions.
Also – have you entered my giveaway yet? Hurry, it closes tomorrow!
ALSO, (last one, I promise) something monumental happened last night. I finally got around to making Katie’s chocolate chip blondies.
Yes, they are as fudgy, rich, and delicious as they look. Everyone who tried them couldn’t believe they were GF or vegan and no one could guess what the secret ingredient was. They also served as inspiration for an Arab vegan variation, which I will be posting very soon.
And now, I have to go fix myself a bedtime snack because just looking at them is making my stomach rumble.
Any crowd pleasing healthy/vegan dessert recipes you swear by?
I’m going home this week and wouldn’t mind some suggestions to experiment with for family and friends.
Everything looks so good! Do you have a postal service?
Those potatoes look and sound amazing – I love that combination of spices!
And aren’t Katie’s blondies life changing?! I’m pretty much obsessed and make them whenever I can.
spicy potatoes and blondies? sign me up!
Spicy+sweet potatoes sounds like heaven. Bookmarked!