Merhaba to you all; this week, I would like to share this favorite easy, delicious all in one vegetarian course – Spiced potatoes, onions, pepper and olives baked in olive oil. Touch of warm, pungent cumin and spicy Turkish red pepper flakes add a lot of flavor to the vegetables here, especially to the humble potato, transforming their taste to a new level. The sweetness of peppers and red onions also give a lovely contrast to juicy, salty olives and complement one another really well. As always, it is all about using a few good, seasonal ingredients and you have a delicious, wholesome dish in hand in less than 1 hour.
You can serve this comforting, gluten-free course as a side to grills or as part of a mezze spread. It can be also be a delicious, light main course on its own with the Cacik dip of cucumber, yoghurt with dried mint and some crusty bread aside. You can also bake this dish ahead of time and give it a gentle reheat in the oven just before serving. Try to get good quality olives; Turkish, Italian, Spanish or Greek Kalamata olives all work well and really make a difference.
Turkish cuisine is healthy, delicious and packed full of easy, wholesome vegetarian options like this recipe. I am passionate about my homeland’s scrumptious Turkish cuisine; over 90 authentic Turkish recipes are included at my Gourmand award winner cookery book, Ozlem’s Turkish Table, Recipes from My Homeland. Signed copies are available at this link and delivered worldwide.
Afiyet Olsun,
Ozlem
- 1kg / 2.2 lb. medium potatoes, quartered
- 2 medium red onions, cut in half and thinly sliced
- 2 red bell pepper (or pointy pepper), deseeded, quartered and thinly sliced
- 12- 14 good quality black olives, pitted and halved
- 15 ml/ 3 tsp. ground cumin
- 10 ml / 2 tsp. Turkish red pepper flakes or chili flakes (you can use more for a spicier taste)
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F
- Put the quartered potatoes in a large enough pan with plenty of cold water.
- Parboil or partially cook the potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan and stir in the sliced red onions and peppers. Sautee for 5 minutes, until they start to soften up, turn the heat off.
- Grease the baking tray with a good drizzle (about 2 tbsp.) of olive oil. Combine the parboiled potatoes, sautéed red onions, peppers and the pitted black olives in the tray. Include any remaining olive oil in the pan of the sautéed red onions and peppers to the baking tray.
- Stir in the ground cumin and red pepper flakes over the vegetables. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Using your hands, combine the spices and the seasoning with the vegetables and olives, giving them a good mix.
- Bake for 35 minutes at 200 C/ 400 F and serve hot.
this looks so delicious. i will be making it soon! thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Merhaba Joyce, you are very welcome – a touch of cumin and red pepper flakes add some magic to the vegetables, hope you enjoy it – afiyet olsun : )
Beautiful hearty bake of vegetables and love the bite of olives in it:) So excited to have have you back in the US, fingers crossed we can meet! XxPeri.
Many thanks Peri, i am excited to be back and even more excited about the prospect of meeting up, fingers crossed!:) xx Ozlem
We are just starting to get good juicy red onions back in Bodrum now. I love them.
Good to hear it BB, enjoy the new harvest kirmizi sogan, cok selamlar : )
You know, Özlem, potatoes are one of our favorite vegetables and in my opinion, Turkish potatoes are among the world’s best. All I had to do was look at your photo, and my mouth was watering. Thanks! It will be on the menu this week. Ailene selam söyle bizden, çok öptük. J
Merhaba Jolee, I was drooling over your sweet potatoes, I know what you mean. Potatoes are a big favorite with us too and so many ways to flavor them, I am glad this one will be in your menu – afiyet olsun! Cok sevgilerimizle, Ozlem
Özlem, I made them and served them last night with palamut. They were delicious and the combo was perfect. Thanks again. This will be a regular on our menu. J
Absolutely delighted to hear it dear Jolee, afiyet olsun!!:) Cok sevgiler, Ozlem
I love that set of flavours for that simple combination of ingredients. Such fine colours too.
Many thanks Phil, high praise indeed, coming from you, glad you’ve enjoyed it.
Janet says I have to thank you because I made a slight variation of this dish and it was delicious – me cooking and smiling at the same time is a big deal! So, thank you for the idea and the guidence. 😀
So happy to hear it Alan, you are very welcome, so delighted that you enjoyed – and made the dish yourself with a smile 🙂 Janet must be delighted, very kind of you both to let me know. Cok selam ve sevgiler, Ozlem