Roasted Parsley Potatoes & Gossip in the Piazza

 

It pays to listen to gossip and conversation in the town piazza at night..some more than others..from overheard conversations last night was a variety of talk about family riffs going on..to the latest couple breaking up in town because of a cheating husband and those disagreeing on whether the wife should forgive and take him back..and then the most useful piece of gossip was overheard at midnight a woman speaking in detail about the fresh parsley in her garden this year and how she used it to flavor roasted potatoes instead of Rosemary (which is the usual here) and how delicious they were..of course she mentioned how her husband did not like Rosemary much so she decided to substitute, This was my favorite piece of gossip and the only one I care to remember in detail…I knew I would eventually hear something of true interest!

Today’s lunch will be a variety of roasted vegetables including roasted potatoes with parsley and locally produced fresh mozzarella..the bread from our local baker or ‘forno’..it is bread made from potatoes..a specialty of this region where potatoes are cultivated..I guess we could think of this area as the Idaho of Italy. Potatoes from the Fucino valley are known throughout and even the headquarters of Micron for Italy (also in Idaho) is located here
 

Roasted Parsley Potatoes
1 lb of peeled potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 handful chopped parsley leaves
Boil potatoes for 5 minutes. Peel. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil on bottom of pan. Cut potatoes into quarters, place in pan. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top. Sprinkle on chopped fresh parsley. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees ,then place under broil for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with a chilled white wine-Trebbiano D’Abruzzo
For more recipes get your copy of The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition
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Sept 9-12 Rhinebeck, NY, see you at Hudson Valley Wine Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. I will be bringing the Basic Art of Italian Cooking on stage with recipes and stories from the book series and book signing event will be held all weekend. For more info or to sponsor the on stage cooking demos email: Info@marialiberati.com
Oct 29-30-Philadelphia Gourmet Food & Wine Show , Valley Forge, Pa. The Basic Art of Italian Cooking will take center stage throughout the event and book signing swill be held throughout the show. For more info or to sponsor on stage demos contact: info@marialiberati.com