Patata l-Forn (Fennel Baked Potatoes)

Patata-I-Forn – Fennel Baked Potatoes - is a traditional Maltese dish that pairs beautifully with all manner of main dishes. Sliced potatoes are layered in a dish and topped with onions, garlic and fennel seeds and baked slowly in the oven for a hearty side that feeds a crowd. This whole food, plant-based version captures all the magic of old-school Patata-I-Forn without relying on oil. It’s a simple and comforting dish you’ll want to make again and again – and you’ll love the aroma that fills your house while it’s cooking!

Whole Food Plant-Based, Vegan, Oil Free, Refined Sugar Free, Gluten Free.

Everyone has a few special home-cooked dishes that make them think of those big family meals from their childhood, and for me, Patata-I-Forn is near the top of the list. This traditional Maltese dish is usually made with olive oil, but I’ve found that it still tastes great without it if I make a few adjustments to make this work as part of a whole food, plant-based diet.

And like all good family dishes, this one has a great story attached to it.

My dad had 18 siblings (or maybe it was 24 – none of his brothers and sisters agree on the number!) so there were a lot of mouths to feed growing up. My grandmother would prepare a huge meal for Sunday lunch with various meats and this Patata-I-Forn.

Back in the day, it was customary to bring big dishes like this to your local bakery and have them cook it in a proper bread oven with a wood and stone base. So my dad would trudge over to the baker with my grandmother’s dish all prepared the day before because she insisted it tasted so much better in their oven than hers.

The baker would assign the dish a number and give it to my dad for pickup the next day, but somehow his family’s dish often just so happened to get mixed up with another dish and someone else would “accidentally” take my grandmother’s cooked dish home instead. I’m sure the fact that she often added rich meats to hers had nothing to do with it!

You see, life was a lot different 55 years ago and meat was still pretty hard to find around here. It was definitely considered a luxury, and even though my grandparents weren’t wealthy, they sometimes found a way to buy meat for this lunch. My grandmother would get SO MAD when people cheated and took her dish instead of their own – and I can’t really blame her!

There are a few things to keep in mind when you make Patata-I-Forn. First, the fennel is not optional – it gives the dish its distinctive flavor, so be generous when you add it. You also need to resist the urge to open the oven until at least 50 minutes into the cooking time as legend says you’ll “give the potatoes a cold” if you do and compromise the taste.

You can also adjust the cooking time depending on how crunchy you like the potatoes. Leaving them in the oven a little longer gives the top layer a nice crunch, so I do this for Mal – and there are still plenty of soft ones in the bottom of the dish for me to enjoy. It’s all about balance, right?

Ingredients:

Serves 4

-4 large potatoes (approx. 1 kilo or 2.2 pounds), peeled, washed and sliced thickly (about half a cm per slice)

-1 medium-sized onion (approx. 100 grams / 3 ½ oz), sliced thinly

-Optional: 3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

-Low-sodium vegetable stock, as needed

Seasonings:

-2 heaped tablespoons fennel seeds

-1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

-black pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.

2. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with the sliced potatoes and continue adding more slices on top of each other in layers.

3. Top the potatoes with the onions and garlic.

4. Add enough vegetable stock to cover all the ingredients.

5. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp ground turmeric and a pinch of black pepper.

6. Scatter 2 heaping tablespoons of fennel seeds across the top. Be generous with these as they are the trick to a delicious Patata l-Forn.

7. Bake in the oven for 50 - 70 minutes until the top potatoes are crispy. If you prefer them softer, you may need to cook for a shorter time.

Note: I prefer the softer potatoes, so I take the ones from the bottom while Malcolm eats the crispy ones on top. That way, nothing goes to waste and we’re both happy! If you prefer one or the other, you may need to use a larger dish so all the slices cook more evenly.

Note 2: Don’t open the oven during the first 50 minutes. Our ancestors have passed on this message from one generation to another. They say that if you do take a peek, the potatoes will “catch a cold” (whatever that means!)  and they won’t taste as good. Even though I’m not quite sure what they’re saying, I’ve never tried opening the oven halfway through, and I suggest you don’t, either ;-).

Nutritional Facts per serving:

Calories: 225

Carbs: 47.8 g

Protein: 5.7 g

Fats: 1.3 g

Fiber: 6 g