Fried potatoes and chillies (kizartma)

This tasty Turkish dish of fried vegetables is served with a thick, flavoursome tomato sauce. Many kizartma recipes use eggplant, so you could substitute this for the chillies if you're worried about the heat.

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 12 long green chillies
• olive oil, to shallow-fry
• 1 kg (about 5) pontiac potatoes, peeled, cut into thin batons
• finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and sliced tomato, to serve

Tomato sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 5 very ripe vine-ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
• ½ tsp dried mint
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• ½ lemon, juiced
• ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

To make tomato sauce, place all ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until mixture starts to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 7 minutes or until tomato breaks down and mixture thickens. Makes 1½ cups.

Meanwhile, using a small knife, pierce chillies to prevent them from bursting. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add potato and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes or until softened. Increase heat to high, add chillies and cook for a further 8 minutes or until potatoes are golden and chillies are tender.

Using a slotted spoon, remove potato and chillies, and drain on paper towel. Serve with tomato sauce, parsley and sliced tomato.

As seen in Feast Magazine, Issue 13, pg55.

Photography by Christopher Ireland

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.