The vastase potatoes are a typical dish of the Sicilian cuisine, particularly from the Trapani area. It’s a simple yet very tasty dish made of oven-baked potato slices along with cherry tomatoes, onion, and mozzarella. Vastase potatoes originated as a humble dish, typical of farming families who had access to the simplest ingredients from the land: potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. This dish could easily become a single, nutritious meal for the whole family, especially when enriched with cheese and, in some variants, sausage or other cured meats. The word ‘vastase’ in Sicilian dialect means ‘cheeky’ or ‘coarse’, evoking something rustic, abundant, and without too many frills. And it is just that; the genuineness of vastase potatoes makes them perfect for a dinner with friends or for all those family occasions when you crave a tasty and genuine dish.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 251.38 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 22.51 (g) of which sugars 5.20 (g)
- Proteins 9.60 (g)
- Fat 14.21 (g) of which saturated 5.38 (g)of which unsaturated 2.35 (g)
- Fibers 2.85 (g)
- Sodium 257.43 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the vastase potatoes from Trapani
The doses are for an appetizer or side dish for 4 people or a main course for 2 people.
- 14 oz potatoes
- 1/2 onion
- 6.3 oz cherry tomatoes
- 4.4 oz mozzarella
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches salt
- to taste pepper
- 2 pinches oregano
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cake pan with a diameter of 9 inches
- Parchment paper
How to prepare vastase potatoes from Trapani
To prepare the vastase potatoes, start by peeling the potatoes. Slice them fairly thick (about 0.4 inches) (1). Peel the onion and slice it very thinly (2).
Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half (3). If you are using larger tomatoes, you can cut them into slices or not too small cubes. Also, slice the mozzarella (4) and let it drain well on a cutting board or in a colander, so that it loses most of its water.
Now that all the ingredients are ready, you can assemble your vastase potatoes. You can season the vegetables in a bowl or directly in the pan you will use to cook them. Line a 9-inch diameter cake pan with parchment paper. Arrange the potatoes and onions and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of oil (5). Mix with a spoon or with your hands to distribute the seasoning evenly, then add the cherry tomatoes and season them with another pinch of salt, 1 more tablespoon of oil, and a bit of oregano (6).
Mix again carefully, so as to distribute the ingredients well within the pan (7). Bake the vastase potatoes in the oven preheated to 392°F (convection) for about 35 minutes, until the potatoes are slightly golden (8).
Take them out of the oven and place the mozzarella slices on top (9). Put them back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, just the time needed to melt the cheese (10).
Serve the vastase potatoes immediately. They are excellent as an appetizer or a rich side dish, but in larger quantities, you can also offer them as a main course, as they are quite substantial.
Storage
The vastase potatoes should be consumed as soon as they are made, but if any leftovers remain, they are good even at room temperature. You can store them in the refrigerator for one day.
Tips and Variations
Instead of mozzarella, the traditional recipe of vastase potatoes can also include caciocavallo, which is very common in Sicilian cuisine. If you want to enrich them and give them more flavor, you can also add cubes of bacon or a crumbled sausage.
