Papas Arrugadas, also called “Wrinkled” Potatoes in English, is an interesting Tapas from the beautiful Canary Island with magnificent white beaches.
“Wrinkled” Potatoes are actually potatoes boiled with water and salt, I mean a lot of salt so as to create the unique “wrinkled” taste of this dish. Therefore, this dish is completely edible and even very tasty, unlike the taste of sprouted or rotten potatoes in popular opinion.
The dish is served with mojo sauce in 2 variations: the green one is mainly sweet, sour, and slightly spicy; and the red one is mostly spicy and sweet. This combination creates the amazing Papas Arrugadas Con Mojo, the dish that will certainly bring a memorable experience for you.
Ingredients
Papas Arrugadas
- 750gr potatoes (small baby potatoes will be ideal)
- 200gr salt
- Water
Mojo Verde de Cilantro (Green Mojo)
- 40gr fresh cilantro
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin grain
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 200ml olive oil
Mojo Picón (Spicy Red Mojo)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 hot peppers
- 2 slices of fried bread
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin seed
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 150ml olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
I will instruct you to make both kinds of mojo sauce, of course with 2 different flavors so that all of your family members can enjoy the dish. While the red mojo sauce perfectly fits the saltiness of salty boiled potatoes as I can see, the green one also brings about a pleasing experience, especially for children, who shouldn’t have too spicy meals.
The ingredients used to make Papas Arrugadas Con Mojo are very simple, I mean both the processes of cooking “wrinkly” potatoes and making 2 types of mojo sauce, as they can be found anywhere. If you are ready to taste the dish, prepare all of the necessary ingredients, and let’s embark on cooking the tapas for a weekend meal with your family, shall we?
Papas Arrugadas Con Mojo Instruction A-Z
The following provides you with detailed instructions for this beer-consuming tapas served at the weekend. The instructions will be divided into small parts so that you can easily follow them and facilitate your cooking process as much as possible.
Making “Wrinkled” Potatoes
Firstly, we will start with the specialty of the Canary Island, Papas Arrgadas. As I have said above, I suggest small baby potatoes because of the most basic experience that they will bring while cooking, as the water used when boiling potatoes needs to evaporate completely. In my situation, it takes over 20 minutes to evaporate all of the water while boiling, and it will undoubtedly take longer if you decide to use bigger potatoes.
I won’t keep you waiting any longer, let’s get started. First, you will need a pot that can load the prepared potatoes. Remember to give every vegetable ingredient a rinse before processing. This will prevent dirt and dust from the ingredient’s surface, creating a bad impression while having the meal.
Put all of the washed and peeled potatoes in the pot, then season the salt according to the given ratio on the top. Next is the water; pour the water into the pot so as to cover the whole surface of the potatoes, higher than the potatoes surface about 1-2 inches, then begin boiling over high heat.
Boiling the potatoes with water and salt until the water evaporates will create a “wrinkled” pattern for Papas Arrugadas, a must-try experience right?
A small tip is that if you don’t want the potatoes to be too soft when the water evaporates, use a knife to thrust at a boiling potato so as to check the texture if it suits your taste, therefore choosing to drain out the water or not. As for me, I would like to enjoy the original taste of the Canary Island, so I will boil them until there is no drip of water left.
When the water vanishes, don’t put the potatoes out yet. There is a wonderful tip that I have learned from the locals on the island: hold the lid of the pot and gently shake it so that the potatoes can be wrinkled on every surface. They are well-cooked, so the contact between them and the edge, the bottom of the pot, and other potatoes will create a wrinkly pattern.
Making Cilantro Green Mojo
Begin processing 2 kinds of sauce while boiling potatoes is totally possible; however, you can still separate 2 processes if you are afraid of confusion while carrying out 2 tasks at the same time. Well, I ain’t really good at multitasking, so I will prefer the second choice, I will start making the sauce after having boiled the potatoes
Anyway, let’s start with the Green Mojo. I will give you a guide to cooking green mojo sauce in the most traditional way.
Firstly, peel every clove of garlic prepared, then cut them into 2 or 3 pieces. Make sure that your house has a high-quality set of Mortar and Pestle since the key to this sauce lies in it. Put the processed garlic, cumin seeds, and a pinch of salt in the mortar, then pestle them as much as possible.
When the mixture is well-kneaded, it’s time we add vinegar to make the sauce. Use your pestle to stir and press the mixture in the mortar edge so that the flavor of every ingredient can be mixed together as much as possible.
With the cilantro, you should use a knife to chop as small as possible to amplify the smell and create the main taste for the green mojo sauce, then add it to the mixture in the mortar. Pestle the mixture until soft and smooth to make sure that the ingredients’ flavor in the sauce are blended together.
The final addition is olive oil; pour a certain amount of olive oil so as to fit your individual taste. It’s better to add little by little, then mix them up and taste if they are pleasing or not.
Repeat grinding, stirring, and pressing in the mortar edge. When the mixture turns a specific green color, some tiny grains of yellow from the garlic appear and the sauce becomes sparkling due to the olive oil, you know that the green mojo sauce is ready.
Making Spicy Red Mojo
Making the Red Mojo, with the help of the blender seems to be an easier task compared to the Green Mojo.
You just have to put peeled cloves of garlic, grind seed, salt, and paprika in the blender and operate it in purée mode for a few seconds.
When the dry mixture is minced, add the rest of the ingredients used to make red sauce except for the oil, including hot peppers, fried bread, and vinegar. Operate the blender in purée mode again.
After the main ingredients are blended, the specific spicy smell rises and there is an acrid smell of garlic, the process is nearly done. The remaining ingredient is only olive oil, which can create the adhesive for the sauce. Like what we have done with the green sauce, pour little by little olive oil in order not to make the sauce too greasy. You don’t want to cloy your appetite when serving buttery potatoes with greasy sauce, do you? I bet that will be an awful combination. Gradually pour the olive oil and use the purée mode. Don’t forget to add the seasonings according to your own taste.
Serving Papas Arrugadas Con Mojo
Now, you will just have to put the boiled potatoes with a wrinkled pattern on a separate plate, and those 2 portions of sauce into 2 different containers. If there is any left, pour it into the spice jars for the sauce so as to combine with other dishes such as fried, and grilled; those will be fascinating collaborations.
If you can, serve this on a wooden plate with 2 separate coconut bowls to create a subtropical vibe as if you are on a trip to Canary, enjoying the sandy beach; it will surely be an unforgettable memory.
A yummy dish I must say, I’m sure that you will love it, and it’s even better if there is a cup of beer or a cup of icy coke. I hope your cooking process will be as smooth as possible. ¡Nos vemos!
More Tapas To Discover
Papas Arrugadas Con Mojo
Equipment
- Pot
- Knife
- Mortar and pestle
- Blender
- Plates preferably wooden plates to serve the wrinkled potatoes
- Bowls preferably wooden bowls to serve the Mojo sauces
Ingredients
Papas Arrugadas
- 750 gr potatoes small baby potatoes will be ideal
- 200 gr salt
- Water
Mojo Verde de Cilantro (Green Mojo)
- 40 g fresh cilantro
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin grain
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 200 ml olive oil
Mojo Picón (Spicy Red Mojo)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 hot peppers
- 2 slices of fried bread
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin seed
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 150 ml olive oil
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
Making “Wrinkled” Potatoes
- Washing and peeling small baby potatoes
- Put potatoes and water in the pot, seasoning a pinch of salt
- Boiling until all of the water evaporates
- Shaking the pot and putting the potatoes out
Making Cilantro Green Mojo
- Peeling and chopping cloves of garlic
- Putting garlic, cumin seeds, and salt in the mortar and pestling
- Adding vinegar stirring and pressing in the mortar edge
- Chopping cilantro as small as possible, adding to the mixture and pestling
- Add olive oil little by little
- Grinding, stirring and pressing until the mixture turns the specific color of the sauce
Making Spicy Red Mojo
- Putting peeled cloves of garlic, grind seeds, salt, and paprika in the blender and operating it
- Adding hot pepper, fried bread, and vinegar in
- Adding olive oil little by little, seasoning depending on personal taste
- Grinding the mixture until soft and smooth
Notes
- Using small baby potatoes will save your time at the Papas Arrugadas step
- A greasy dish will have your appetite cloyed. Remember to adjust the amount of olive oil used during the whole cooking process
- The premium equipment will help to create a wonderful dish. Prepare a high-quality set of mortar and pestle; this is also applied to a blender’s situation
