Potatoes and Olives in Onion-Tomato Sauce

For Greeks this is a classic Lenten or vegan dish, cooked on the days that all foods derived from animal products are prohibited. Although in my family we didn’t follow a religious menu, so to speak, I remember my grandmother saying that patates yahni was especially suited for the summer Lent before the Assumption (August 15).

My mother cooked the potatoes on the stove, stirring them every now and then; she kept the water in the pan to a minimum in order to concentrate the fl