Patate alla Griglia, Grilled Potatoes

I often wrap potatoes in foil and slip them into the embers when I fire up the grill; they cook on their own and are wonderful with the meats, especially when seasoned with olive oil. Grilled potatoes are another tasty option. You’ll need:

• Potatoes sufficient to feed your party
• Kosher salt
• The finely chopped leaves of a fresh sprig of rosemary
• A drizzle of olive oil

Peel the potatoes and slice them lengthwise (quarter them if they’re small, or eighth them if they’re larger). Boil the slices in lightly salted water for 5 minutes.

Drain them, pat them dry, and grill them over a medium heat for 5 minutes per side. Transfer them to a serving dish, sprinkle them with kosher salt and chopped rosemary, drizzle a little olive oil over them, and serve.

La Pasqua Napoletana: Carciofi e Patate Soffritti, Sautéed Artichokes and Potatoes

To serve 6:

• 8 artichokes (they should be firm and feel solid — soft or light artichokes will probably have fuzzy hearts)
• The juice of a half a lemon
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil for the artichokes
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt to taste
• 3 pounds (about 1.5 k) baby potatoes (if they’re small and fine-skinned they need not be peeled)
• 1 pint olive oil for the potatoes
• A bunch parsley, minced
• Pepper to taste

If the potatoes are young and fine skinned, wash and rub them with a rough cloth. Otherwise, peel them.

Trim the tough outer leaves off the artichokes (continue until the exposed leaves are almost all white), cut the tops off (perpendicular to the length of the artichoke) and cut them into eighths, putting the slices into water acidulated with lemon juice to keep them from turning black. When you have finished cutting them up, pat them dry and sauté them in a pan with the oil, garlic, salt, and minced parsley. Begin over a low flame, covered, and after a little while uncover them and turn them often so they cook well on all sides, browning and almost coming apart. When they’re done drain away almost all the oil.

In the meantime heat the remaining oil in a high-sided pot suitable for frying, and add the potatoes in one fell swoop with a half cup of water. Let them cook gently at first, covering the pot so that they soften, and then raise the flame and uncover them to brown them.

Once the potatoes have browned, drain them and add them to the artichokes, together with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about ten minutes over a very low flame.

About artichokes and preparing them
Other Neapolitan Easter Recipes