Papas arrugadas con mojo picón
Wrinkled potatoes with red pepper sauce
Papas arrugadas con mojo picón: Canarian salt-crusted wrinkled potatoes with a fiery red pepper sauce
No meal in the Canary Islands seems complete without a bowl of papas arrugadas, small potatoes boiled in water as salty as the Atlantic until their skins wrinkle and frost over with white salt. In every guachinche, the pop-up wine-farm eateries in the hills of northern Tenerife, they arrive with a pot of mojo picón, a thick, garlicky sauce of dried red peppers, cumin, paprika and vinegar. Eat them skin and all, dragged through the mojo. Chef's tip: once drained, put the pot back on a low heat and shake it for a minute or two, as that drying is what forms the wrinkles and the salt crust.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the potatoes
- 2 ¼ lb small new potatoes, all the same sizescrubbed, skins on
- 5 ½ oz coarse sea salt
- 4 ¼ cups waterenough to just cover
For the mojo picón
- 3 dried sweet red peppers (ñora or choricero)seeded, soaked 30 minutes in hot water
- 2 small dried hot chillies (pimienta picona)seeded; fewer for a milder sauce
- 5 cloves garlicpeeled
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¾ cup olive oil
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put the 2 ¼ lb small new potatoes, all the same size in a pan in which they fit in one snug layer. Add the 5 ½ oz coarse sea salt and pour in the 4 ¼ cups water so it only just covers them.
2 minStep 2: Bring to the boil and cook, uncovered, for 20–25 minutes until a knife slides into the biggest potato with no resistance.
25 minStep 3: Pour off all the water, return the pan to a low heat and shake it now and then for 2–4 minutes until the skins dry, wrinkle and turn white with salt. A common mistake is covering the potatoes with too much water; they then never take on enough salt to form the crust.
4 minStep 4: For the mojo, drain the 3 dried sweet red peppers (ñora or choricero) and scrape the soft flesh from the skins. Pound the 2 small dried hot chillies (pimienta picona), 5 cloves garlic, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 tsp salt in a mortar (or use a small blender) to a paste.
8 minStep 5: Add the pepper flesh and 1 tbsp sweet paprika and pound until smooth. Work in the 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, then drizzle in the ¾ cup olive oil a little at a time, stirring, until you have a thick, glossy, brick-red sauce.
6 minStep 6: Serve the potatoes warm in a bowl with the mojo alongside for dipping.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does papas arrugadas con mojo picón take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 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 small new potatoes, all the same size?
- Any waxy potato, cut to the same size.
- What can I use instead of dried sweet red peppers (ñora or choricero)?
- Any colour of bell pepper, same amount.
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