These potatoes with their accompanying preserved lemons and artichokes go especially well with Gold-encrusted, Greek, super-slow-cooked lamb (cries of ‘this is exquisite!’ and ‘one of the best meals I’ve had for months’), but it would also go well with roast chicken, and a plain grilled white fish.

The vegetables are soft from being half braised, but the time spent at roasting temperatures, together with the honey caramelises them. Fabulous!

NB – this is not difficult, but allow about an hour and a half to make.

Recipe for potatoes with preserved lemons, artichokes and carrots

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 750g/1 lb 10 oz new potatoes
• 12 banana shallots
• 1 whole bulb of garlic
• ½”/1 cm ginger
• ½ tsp Aleppo pepper (you could also use Byadgi chilli) – if you prefer a bit more piquancy add another half teaspoon
• A few sprigs of thyme
• 3 preserved lemons
• 5 bay leaves
• 80 ml/⅓ cup oil – use the oil drained from the artichokes, and make up the deficit with olive oil
• 120 ml/½ cup dry vermouth (I use Noilly Prat)
• 360 ml/1½ cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you are a vegetarian) made with two stock cubes
• 3 x 280g net weight jars of artichoke hearts in oil (hopefully olive oil) – total drained weight 480g/1 lb
• 2 tbsp honey
• 300g/14 oz organic heritage or baby carrots
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Method

1. Boil a full kettle.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Pour the boiling water into a medium saucepan and boil the potatoes (halving any larger ones first) – don’t bother to peel obviously – for about 15 minutes – until not quite done.
4. Meanwhile scrape the carrots not terribly carefully with a potato peeler – you just want to take off any black or scabby bits. Put them into a big roasting tin.
5. Peel (just press down with the flat of a broad knife – the skin will come off easily) each of the cloves of garlic – add to the carrots.
6. Peel the banana shallots and cut lengthways into quarters – add to the carrots.
7. Add the stock, the vermouth and the honey.
8. Drain the artichokes, and use the oil to make up 80ml/⅓ cup – if you need any more oil, supplement with olive oil. Set the artichokes to one side.
9. Grate over the ginger.
10. Add the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaves.
11. Sprinkle over the Aleppo pepper.
12. Put into the oven for 15 minutes.
13. Meanwhile, drain the potatoes.
14. Slice the preserved lemons and cut each slice in half.
15. Crush the coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle
16. Take the roasting tray out of the oven, and increase the oven temperature to 210°C
17. Stir, and add the potatoes, the lemons and the crushed coriander seeds.
18. Return to the oven, and roast for another 30 minutes.
19. About ten minutes later, cut the artichoke hearts vertically in half, and add to rest of the ingredients, stirring all up so everything is covered with liquid.
20. Take out of the oven, and serve.

For an alternative recipe see Montepulciano onion-braised potatoes – here’s the link.