At the recent Tilda stir-fry rice event I had the fortune to chat with many bloggers I knew well and in passing. The following morning one of them pointed me towards a recipe on their site, Maltese roast potatoes. Did You Put Garlic? specialises in Maltese cuisine.
Now, these aren’t roast potatoes as this blog knows them – in fact they are extremely close to potatoes boulangere. It turns out they sprang into being for the same reason – the baker has the biggest, hottest (only?) oven in town, so everybody would cook their potatoes in his kitchen once the bread was done. This cross-pollination of ideas is not surprising given the French occupation of Malta throughout the 19th Century.
So the food itself? Lovely. Crisp-edged, slightly soft potatoes brimming with stock only with the unexpected yet entirely welcome tickle of Madras curry powder warming the mouth through at the end. Very nice. To top it off I poured nothing but the best into it: all the veg came from my garden, including my first crop of this year’s potatoes. They were all spoilt rotten.
Head on over to Mer’s site for the recipe.
And yes, I did put garlic.
Big Spud 
Hi Gary, thanks ever so much for the plug, glad you enjoyed the roast. :D
you’re right about the oven being the only one in the villages, these days people have them, but back then space for such big families to sleep in came at a premium. My own grandmother had 7 children and lived with her sister who had another 5 of her own.
So that’s at least 16 people including parents in one house? It’s like another Universe entirely. My Granddad was one of 13 too, I just can’t fathom it.
Thanks for the recipe!
Yes, though sadly my grandmother had to put her children (inc my mother) into institutions run by nun’s and priests – she had separated from my grandfather ?(hence living with her sister) and was working 2 jobs (divorce didn’t exist until very recently. It’s still a deeply religious nation). Mum used to tell me that her they used to share a single tap for water between about 10 families in the block. And this was the 50s and 60s!
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Did you know that I am half Maltese? These potatoes go very nicely with fish or chicken!
Thanks for the recommendation.
Gary
just discovered your blog and really love it… some blog-friends and I have started a ‘roast-potato’ cook-off (see here: http://belleaukitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/perfect-roast-potato.html) maybe you’d like to join in?
Anyway… great blog x
Thanks a lot!
How can I resist a ‘perfect roast potato’ challenge? It’s one of the reasons this blog exists. I’m there *whoosh*
Gary
Mmm that looks fab, really love the sound of adding curry powder to the potatoes!
It’s a lovely idea – just a prickle of heat that rounds out the flavour nicely.
Gary
A person can never have too many roast potato recipes, fact.
I like your style!
Gary
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