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I have decided that June is going to be an Italian month.

So that would be Giugno.

I have no particular reason for this decision other than the fact that a little over a month ago I purchased this delightful little book by Maxine Clark and fell in love with it.

Seriously in love. In fact I’ve been taking it to bed with me every night for the past week!

One of the recipes that intrigued me as soon as I saw it was one for Devil’s Potatoes. It’s a dish of boiled potatoes drenched in olive oil and flecked with evil hot red chili peppers.

We eat a lot of boiled potatoes with olive oil and salt. In the summer, my mother will often throw in a bit of mint, which is delicious. At this time of year, it’s hard to find red chili peppers that are truly hot. The ones in the supermarket barely pass the spicy test in my family (we are pros when it comes to spicy food). I find we have better luck with jalapenos until we’re able to pick the hot red peppers from our garden (hopefully in another month or so).

I added chopped parsley and mint to the jalapenos, drenched the potatoes in lots of gorgeous extra virgin olive oil and added some sea salt as a final touch.

Delicious!

Enjoy Italian June … I mean Giugno.

Ciao!

Potatoes with Mint, Parsley and Jalapenos
Adapted from Easy Italian: Simple Recipe for Every Occasion by Maxine Clark.

Note: This dish will serve 4 people.

4 large potatoes, boiled with the skins on until cooked through
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or more depending on your tastes)
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
1 tbsp. chopped mint
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (if you don’t like spicy food then you should seed the jalapeno)
sea salt to taste

Let the boiled potatoes cool for a few minutes before peeling off the skins. Slice the potatoes into thick rounds (at least half an inch) and place rounds in a bowl.

Pour the olive oil over the potatoes. We like our potatoes to be drenched in olive oil so we may use as much as half a cup. How much you use is up to you.

Scatter the chopped mint, parsley and jalapeno over the potatoes. With your hands or with a large spoon, mix thoroughly.

Add salt to taste and serve.

Enjoy!