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Cachelos
Boiled potatoes with paprika oil
Cachelos con aceite de pimentón: Galician boiled potatoes dressed with paprika oil
At Galician fairs, and above all at O Carballiño's octopus festival every August, octopus is served on wooden plates with cachelos: potatoes boiled in their skins, cut into chunks and splashed with olive oil, coarse salt and paprika. They are just as good on their own, as a side for grilled fish or meat. A common mistake is adding paprika to sizzling oil, where it burns in seconds and turns bitter; warm the oil, take it off the heat, then stir it in. Chef's tip: boil the potatoes with a bay leaf and plenty of salt, and leave the skins on, so they stay whole and full of flavour.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb medium waxy potatoesscrubbed, skins on
- 1 tbsp saltfor the water
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlicthinly sliced
- ½ tsp hot paprika
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 2 ¼ lb medium waxy potatoes in a pot with 2 bay leaves and 1 tbsp salt and cover with cold water by 2 cm. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until a knife slides into the centre with no resistance.
25 minStep 2: Meanwhile, warm 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 clove garlic in a small pan over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, until the garlic just turns pale gold. Take the pan off the heat, wait 30 seconds, then stir in 1 tsp sweet smoked or unsmoked paprika and ½ tsp hot paprika.
3 minStep 3: Drain the potatoes and leave them to steam dry for a minute. Cut into thick chunks, skins on, and arrange on a warm plate.
2 minStep 4: Spoon the red oil over and sprinkle with 1 tsp coarse sea salt. Serve warm.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 37 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does cachelos take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of medium waxy potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
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