Patatas Viudas
Widowed Potatoes
Patatas viudas or "widowed potatoes" is a classic peasant Castilian dish consisting of,
well, potatoes. Indeed the potatoes have been "widowed" because there is no meat at all in the dish, it's just potatoes
mixed with a sofrito of onions, garlic and parsley with some paprika added as a twist. That's it, a simple, peasant,
non-pretentious dish - but one that is quite satisfying. Castilian peasants ate it as a main meal, probably with a bit more
water than the recipe below calls for, but I served it as a side and it probably works best like that.
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Patatas Viudas
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes
- salt
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. minced parsley
- 1 laurel leaf
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
Instructions
Peel and cut the potatoes into 3/4" chunks. Fill a cooking pot with water, add salt and the potatoes and bring to a boil
over high heat. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, parsley and bay
leaf. Mix well and saute for 2 minutes. Bring down the heat to very low, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Add paprika
and mix.
Once the potatoes are done, drain reserving 1/3 cup of the water. Add potatoes and reserved water to the onion mixture,
mix and cook for a few minutes until the flavors have blended. Season with salt, if necessary, and serve.
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Adapted from Penelope Casas' Delicioso! The regional cooking of
Spain.
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