Receta Patate alla lucana (Basilicata Potato Casserole)

by Frank Fariello

Italian cuisine is not generally known for potato gratin dishes. But here’s one from the little-known cuisine of Basilicata that is sure to be a crowd pleaser: patate alla lucana, potatoes layered with onions and tomatoes, scented with oregano and pecorino cheese. Considered a side dish or contorno, I sometimes like to “reinforce” the classic recipe with mozzarella and anchovies, turning it into a light main course or one-dish supper. And while the tomatoes mark this as a traditional summer dish, I made patate alla lucana using canned tomatoes on a recent chilly January evening. It was perfectly delicious. The name alla lucana refers to Lucania, the ancient land of the Lucani people which roughly coincided with the current region of Basilicata, but included parts of Campania, Puglia and Calabria as well. Lucano is often used today to refer to modern day Basilicata. The dish is also known as patate arraganate or patate raganate. Ingredients Serves 4-6 as a side course, 750g (1-1/2) potatoes, peeled and sliced 500g (1 lb) tomatoes, peeled and sliced (or canned tomatoes, drained and sliced) 1 medium onion, thinly sliced Oregano, q.b. Pecorino cheese, q.b. Breadcrumbs, q.b. Olive oil, q.b. Salt For my main course version: 100-150g (3-4 oz) mozzarella or scamorza, or more if you like Anchovy fillets, to taste Directions Grease the bottom of a baking or gratin dish with olive oil. Lay down a layer of potato slices. (I like to lay them in slightly overlapping rows, like roof tiles, but you needed be so “pignolo” if you don’t care about looks.) Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. Then lay down some tomato slices here and there, along with some of their juice, then some onion slices. If using, add the mozzarella or scamorza and/or a few anchovies. Sprinkle over some oregano and then grate some pecorino on top. Finally, drizzle everything with olive oil. Repeat this layering process until you have run out of potatoes. Top the final layer of potatoes with some tomatoes, generous amounts of grated pecorino and a nice sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Drizzle olive oil all over, in a cross-hatch pattern so the crumbs are well impregnated with oil. Bake in a 180C/350F oven for a good hour or so, or until golden brown on top and the juices that the tomatoes will have given off has (mostly) cooked off. If the top is not done to your liking after an hour, increase the oven temperature to 200C/400F and continue baking for a few minutes more. Let the potatoes cool off for a good 10-15 minutes before serving. Notes on Patate alla lucana The recipe for patate alla lucana would likely work with any kind of potatoes. But I like to use either “all purpose” or waxy potatoes, the kind you would use for potato salad, rather than the floury sort (like Russets) for mashed potatoes. White onion is often called for, although I’ve used the usual yellow onions with fine results, and I imagine red onions would also serve well. Garlic is sometimes added along with the onion, and minced parsley along with the oregano. And you could add capers and/or olives as well for even more flavor. As mentioned, you can omit the tomato, in which case I would add a splash of wine or water to moisten the potatoes before baking. The scent of oregano is one of the primary characteristics of patate alla lucana. Be liberal but but not so liberal that you overwhelm the other flavors . Oregano is an herb typical of southern Italian cooking, but it’s not used with quite the abandon as some people imagine, or as you might be led to believe from some Italian-American cooking. As with other oven-roasted potatoes recipes, the final rest is an important step that you shouldn’t skip. The dish will cool off from the tongue-scorching temperature at which it comes out of the oven, of course. But even more importantly, the rest also allows the pan juices to seep into the potatoes and lend them extraordinary flavor. It makes a world of difference. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that patate alla lucana bear a strong resemblance to other baked casserole dishes called tielle we’ve featured from neighboring Puglia, in particular the tiella pugliese and especially the Potato, Onion and Tomato Casserole. Print Yum Patate alla lucana (Basilicata Potato Casserole) Ingredients750g (1-1/2) potatoes, peeled and sliced 500g (1 lb) tomatoes, peeled and sliced (or canned tomatoes, drained and sliced) 1 medium onion, thinly sliced Oregano, q.b. Pecorino cheese, q.b. Breadcrumbs, q.b. Olive oil, q.b. Salt For my main course version: 100-150g (3-4 oz) mozzarella or scamorza, or more if you like Anchovy fillets, to tasteInstructionsGrease the bottom of a baking or gratin dish with olive oil. Lay down a layer of potato slices. (I like to lay them in slightly overlapping rows, like roof tiles, but you needed be so "pignolo" if you don't care about looks.) Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. Then lay down some tomato slices here and there, along with some of their juice, then some onion slices. If using, add the mozzarella or scamorza and/or a few anchovies. Sprinkle over some oregano and then grate some pecorino on top. Finally, drizzle everything with olive oil. Repeat this layering process until you have run out of potatoes. Top the final layer of potatoes with some tomatoes, generous amounts of grated pecorino and a nice sprinkling of breadcrumbs. Drizzle olive oil all over, in a cross-hatch pattern so the crumbs are well impregnated with oil. Bake in a 180C/350F oven for a good hour or so, or until golden brown on top and the juices that the tomatoes will have given off has (mostly) cooked off. If the top is not done to your liking after an hour, increase the oven temperature to 200C/400F and continue baking for a few minutes more. Let the potatoes cool off for a good 10-15 minutes before serving.Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by Yummly Rich Recipes0.1http://memoriediangelina.com/2017/01/27/patate-alla-lucana/(c) Frank Fariello   Share this:Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Feedly (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) You might also like... Mozzarella in carrozza (Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches) Bucatini alla pizzaiola Homemade Potato Gnocchi Pasta e patate (Pasta and Potatoes) Calzone di cipolla alla pugliese (Puglian Onion Pie) Eggplant Cordon Bleu (Cordon bleu di melanzane) Stinco di maiale al forno con patate (Oven-Roasted Pork Hock and Potatoes) Caponata napoletana Authentic Bruschetta: A Basic Recipe Tiella di patate, cipolle e pomodori (Potato, Onion and Tomato Casserole) What Our Readers Are Saying Patate al forno (Italian Oven Roasted Potatoes) Gattò di patate (Neapolitan Potato “Cake”) Gnocchi alla sorrentina (Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella) Cipolle al forno (Baked Onions) Tags: baked, vegetable, vegetarian