Another Lockdown Lunch that happened by chance when I realised that I had a bag of baby spinach leaves that was starting to go off. So after washing and picking out some icky leaves I was left with about 3/4 of a bag, but that turned out to be plenty for what I had in mind. It also gave me a chance to break out the mandolin I’d bought back in September 2017, which only occurred to me because in a fit of cleaning a couple of weeks ago I took it out of its box and ran it through the dishwasher. So it was all ready to go.
And well… OMG. There is no going back. I used it to thinly slice the potatoes and onions (no more tears!) and was actually way too excited about this, to be honest. But that’s fine, because during these long cloistered days I gotta get my thrills however and whenever. Anyhow, it’s a really easy recipe and you can play around with the ingredients, and amounts. The main thing is to bake the ingredients separately adding layers so that the potatoes cook through but are also a bit crispy.
Ingredients and instructions below…
- 3 large potatoes
- 2 onions
- 175 grams baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, halved and sliced
- 200 grams feta, crumbled
- dried mixed herbs (savory, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, oregano)
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan)
Peel the potatoes and cut in half, then in half again, and then slice them on a mandolin using the long flat blade. I used setting 3 (which I assume is 3mm? hey, I’m new to this). If you don’t have a mandolin then just thinly slice the potatoes, and then pat dry with paper towels. Put the sliced potatoes in in a roasting tray, season with salt and pepper and toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then spread the potato slices evenly on the tray. Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the onions on the mandolin, season with salt and toss with olive oil. Set aside. Cut the tomatoes in half and cut into thin slices (didn’t use the mandolin for them). Set them aside to drain a bit so they aren’t too watery when it’s time to add them to the mix.
After 15 minutes check the potatoes (you want them to be a bit crispy at this point, if they’re not leave them another 5 minutes). When they are ready, flip the potatoes over with a spatula then top with the onions and bake for another 10 minutes. Next top with the spinach, tomatoes and feta and sprinkle with the mixed herbs, then return to oven for a final 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Adjust seasoning if you think it needs more salt and finish with a drizzling of olive oil.
