Nonna’s potato bake
- 1kg desiree potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped
- ½ large onion, roughly chopped
- 200g Italian chopped tomatoes (alternatively 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped)
- 100g ham, roughly chopped
- 8 salted capers, rinsed, drained, finely chopped
- 12 large basil leaves roughly chopped
- 60g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
- 4 tablespoons (80ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing baking dish
- 200g Provola cheese (Provolone dolce, alternatively use Mozzarella)
- Sea salt freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220°C conventional oven / 200°C fan-forced (425° Fahrenheit/Gas 7). Grease a 5cm deep, rectangular baking dish with extra virgin olive oil.
Place the onion, potatoes, chopped tomatoes, ham, capers, basil and 40g of the Parmigiano Reggiano in a mixing bowl. Season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with 80ml olive oil. Use your hands to gently toss to evenly coat the potatoes in the oil and combine.
Arrange half of the potato mixture over base of the greased baking dish, slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with 10g (half) of the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano. Add the remaining potato mixture and sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bake for 40 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through and golden. Remove from the oven and add the Provola cheese. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving – Buon appetito.
