Potatoes, Peppers and Tomatoes - Sicilian Style

Breakfast can be almost anything in our house. I wanted something substantial due to the rainy weather. Who doesn’t love a potato dish? I make this Sicilian inspired dish when I am looking for an easy, toss it in the pan recipe.

This recipe is full of healthy vegetables and very little fat. I add the drizzle of olive oil at the end for two reasons. First, a dish with no fat doesn’t normally taste like anything. Fat is a flavor carrier and without it food doesn’t seem to taste very good. Second, by including a little fat you make certain that your body can process the fat soluble vitamins that were present in your meal. In this dish the tomatoes need a little fat for the body to absorb the lycopene.

Potatoes, Peppers and Tomatoes – Sicilian Style
Makes 2 servings if hungry and being eaten as a meal

Ingredients:

1 red onion, cut thinly into half moons
4 cloves of garlic, minced (cut 10 minutes prior to cooking for allicin to develop)
¼ cup of water to sauté onion and garlic
1 pound of new potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of fennel seed, toasted
½ teaspoon of dried thyme
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, finely minced – for garnish
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil – for garnish

Directions:

In a large (10 – 12 inch) heavy bottomed skillet sauté the onion and garlic in the water until the onion is soft. Then add the remaining ingredients except the parsley and olive oil and turn the heat to medium. Cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes check the potatoes for doneness. When the potatoes reach the softness you desire plate the dish and finish with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Comments:

This dish is very fragrant from the toasted fennel seed. I like the potatoes to be "just cooked" in this dish. Most of the ingredients are soft, so you need a little texture in the meal. I think a little sprinkling of toasted slivered almonds would add a need textural variation if you have them on hand. If you have fresh fennel available that would also be fantastic in this dish.

We eat this dish for breakfast when I need a quick, low involvement recipe. On days when we go to the farmers’ market I am not normally in the mood to fuss over breakfast.