Postmodern Panacalty
I used:
Method:
Fry the bacon for a few minutes in olive oil.
Slice the potatoes approx 1/8th" thick. Place half of them in a layer at the bottom of a roasting dish or large casserole. Slice the onion and put on top. Put in the tomatoes, slicing them down the middle if they're big. sprinkle on the basil, add the bacon, and finish off with another layer of sliced potatoes. Sprinkle on olive oil and pepper.
Cook on gas mark 6 for approximately 1 hour. (After which the potatoes and onions should be al dente; you could cook it for much longer and more slowly if you wanted to). DO NOT cover it: the top layer of potato should go crispy.
I used Kestrel potatoes, but main crop (King Edwards, for example) would have been better.
I should explain that Panacalty (there are many spelling variants) is a North East England dish. There are even more variants on what it should consist of, and in my experience every family has a different view. Really, therefore, it's a dialect word for "casserole" or "stew".
- 5 rashers of bacon, chopped
- four medium potatoes
- 8 medium plum tomatoes, peeled
- cup of fresh, chopped basil
- one large onion
- olive oil
- cracked black pepper
Method:
Fry the bacon for a few minutes in olive oil.
Slice the potatoes approx 1/8th" thick. Place half of them in a layer at the bottom of a roasting dish or large casserole. Slice the onion and put on top. Put in the tomatoes, slicing them down the middle if they're big. sprinkle on the basil, add the bacon, and finish off with another layer of sliced potatoes. Sprinkle on olive oil and pepper.
Cook on gas mark 6 for approximately 1 hour. (After which the potatoes and onions should be al dente; you could cook it for much longer and more slowly if you wanted to). DO NOT cover it: the top layer of potato should go crispy.
I used Kestrel potatoes, but main crop (King Edwards, for example) would have been better.
I should explain that Panacalty (there are many spelling variants) is a North East England dish. There are even more variants on what it should consist of, and in my experience every family has a different view. Really, therefore, it's a dialect word for "casserole" or "stew".
this sounds absolutely lovely, I think we shall be trying it in the near future.
ReplyDeleteAny chance of posting a picture of the end product? Hold on. I need to clarify that. Not the *end* product but what it looks like ready to be served.
ReplyDeleteI scoffed the lot before thoughts of a photo had passed my mind. I'll take a photo next time, though, because the red tomatoes and dark green basil did look pretty.
ReplyDeleteand there was me thinking the Parmo was the only example of NE England-Italian fusion cooking
ReplyDelete...Parmos scare me
ReplyDelete