I’ve been to Spain many times; as a child it was the first trip abroad I took because my aunt lived in Barcelona.
I returned many times after that, but I’m more of a Madrid person than Barcelona — I find it more interesting culturally, architecturally and also culinarily.
On some cruises I visited Malaga, Mallorca and Lanzarote, and the Spain I love most is that of the islands.
For New Year’s 2010-2011 I was in Tenerife, while in March 2015 I visited wild Fuerteventura, the Canary island with the most beautiful beaches, and in 2021 Gran Canaria.
Spanish cuisine appeals to almost everyone, a bit like Italian…
My true experience of Iberian cooking came in Tenerife: we rented an apartment, so meals were in different restaurants every day.
The beaches in Tenerife are forgettable compared to its restaurants.
It was a very pleasant holiday, my first New Year in the warmth with friends who lived there, and if I think of a dish that accompanied me throughout the trip, I definitely think of papas arrugadas (wrinkled potatoes)!
A recipe I later found again on my subsequent trip to Gran Canaria.
Originally from Peru, from where the Spanish brought them to the archipelago in the 16th century, these are boiled potatoes cooked in water and salt and generally served with three typical sauces: mojo picón (chili), mojo verde (parsley) and mojo de cilantro (coriander).
It is a traditional recipe of the Canary Islands.
To make a good plate of papas arrugadas following the true Canarian tradition, buy potatoes of the “papa bonita” variety; alternatively, new potatoes will work fine.
The cooking method consists of boiling the potatoes unpeeled with a lot of sea salt so that, when cooked and after draining the remaining water, a salt crust remains on the skin.
They can also be cooked with seawater, as was done in the past when fresh water was scarce, and they are eaten with the skin on.
In the video you will also find the sous-vide (CBT) version.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb (or new potatoes)
- 9 oz coarse sea salt
Preparation
First of all, take care of the potatoes. Rinse them thoroughly under running water.
Fill a pot with water (it should slightly cover the potatoes) and add half of the salt.
Immerse the unpeeled potatoes and bring to a boil.
When they are soft enough (20–30 minutes), drain them to remove the excess water.
Put them back into the same pot with the remaining salt and continue cooking so they dry out over the heat, shaking the pot or tossing them.
When the skin begins to wrinkle, turn off the heat. At this point the papas are ready — all that’s left is to serve them.
Travel photos from Tenerife, December 28, 2010 to January 3, 2011
To make other easy potato recipes, you can take inspiration from the book: Potatoes. 50 easy recipes for €4.65 and if you want to try sous-vide (CBT) cooking buy the roner.
