Roast Mediterranean Vegetables with speck, feta and anchovies

Sometimes the very simple meals are the best and especially when the weather is warm and you can’t be fussed with cooking (BBQin’ being the exception). Here is a one that once prepared, you pop it in the oven and only visit it twice.

My take on Mediterranean roast vegetables with feta cheese.

Ingredients:

1 large courgette
2 red peppers
1 large onion
6-7 cloves of garlic
2 plum tomatoes (it can be any, but these I had at hand)
Handful of small diced feta with herbs (I bought mine already diced)
6 Anchovy filets
50g Bauchspeck (or smoked streaky bacon)
Handful of cepes (I always have a packet of the frozen ones from Lidl or Aldi in the freezer)
6 new potatoes, halved or large ones quartered
1 heaped Tablespoon of Herds de Provence
1 Tsp. of oregano
Enough olive oil to coat all of the vegetables (and a bit more for later)
Course Sea salt (I have some from the French Atlantic coast with herbs in it.
1 sprig of fresh Rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh Basil (I have the small leafed sort on my balcony)
Plenty of ground pepper
A grinding of dried chillies

Wash your veg.

Slice your courgettes lengthways, slice off the tops of the red peppers and remove the cores, cut into ¼s, roughly slice the onion, leave the skins on the garlic cloves (you can press the soft pulp out if you are lucky enough to get one of these little gems on your plate.
Put the speck, and cepes into the bottom of a deep roasting tin, then the tomatoes and red peppers, sliced courgettes, onions and garlic into the roasting tin(It matters not in which order you add the vegetables), sprinkle (pour) the dried herbs over the top, add the salt and pepper, grind the chillies (how much depends on your and/or your guests taste, pour in the olive oil and now mix so that everything is coated in herbs and spices (now you see why it doesn’t matter).

Cover with aluminium foil and put into the oven at 180°, make sure you have put your bottle of Aldi pink in the fridge for later.

Peel the spuds and put into salted water, bring to the boil, cook until just tender.

Open up a cold beer and go and sit on the balcony and read a book or listen to a bit of cricket or if not too hot go for a bike ride (1hr max).

After a good hour, have a look, the veg should be tender, remove the foil, watch the pinkies the roasting tin is bloody hot (I will show you the scares some time) add the potatoes and anchovies, sprinkle with the fresh herbs, olive oil and salt.

Put back into the oven at 230°C on the top rung and cook uncovered until the potatoes brown and the skins of the red peppers blister and go black.  Add the feta cheese and pop it back in for about 5 minutes.

Remove to a heat proof base

and spoon onto the plate, don’t forget the juices, the olive oil and veg juices have mingled with the feta and anchovies, it really is that easy and that fantastic, I had a nice stick of Mediterranean bread with olives and sundried tomatoes , you will require this to mop up the juices, before spooning out another plate full.

You could make this entirely vegetarian, by missing out the anchovies, feta and speck, but then you would be missing out on a wonderful eating experience. You can add any veg you wish, aubergines or those small long sweet pepperoni's, any thing you wish I think chunks of pumpkin would also go well!

I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow cold with bread and for an accompaniment to some grilled sardine’s tomorrow night.