The Food of my Ancestors

I recently discovered I have a real talent for cooking potatoes. Shocking, I know, the staple of the Irish diet. Growing up, we had some form of potatoes for dinner nearly every night, usually mashed or baked. I had no appreciation for the tuber. Blech. Boring, boring white food.

For a Fourth of July afternoon cookout at the Community Boat House, I planned to make a roasted potato cold salad. I typically just cover the potatoes in olive oil, and put in some rosemary, salt, and pepper. I decided to change it a bit, and added some cayenne pepper and nutmeg. I also had some tomatoes that needed to have something done to them, so I cut them in half and through them in with the potatoes for the last couple of minutes. Then I spotted the sliced almonds in my cabinet, and they were added as well. I was making it up as I went along, and it turned out pretty delicious.

My friend Heidi had a party for the final game of the World Cup, so I was on the search for a recipe for patatas bravas to root for Spain. When I lived in San Francisco, there were a couple of tapas restaurants that had the most amazing potato dish, and my hope was to find something to replicate it.

I sent out a plea on Facebook, asking if anyone had a recipe for the amazing potato. My friend Alex emailed me a recipe he had from a book by Penelope Casas, Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain. Recipe is listed below.

Serves 4
2 Medium-Large potatoes
2 medium-large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
Olive oil
Salt
Alioli Sauce (below), thinned to sauce consistency if necessary

AIOLI SAUCE
1 cup mayonnailse, preferably homemade
4 or more cloves garlic, mashed to a paste or put through a garlic press

To make the Alioli, combine the mayonnaise and garlic. Let sit at room temperature until ready to use

TOMATO SAUCE
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 glove garlic, minced
3 medium tomatoes (about 3/4 pound), chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1/2 dried red chili pepper, seeded and crumbled, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Dash of Tabasco sauce
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Fresh ground pepper

Grease a roasting pan and arrange the potatoes in one layer. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake at 375ºF for about 45 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is wilted. Add the tomatoes and sauté for another few minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, wine, water, parsley, chili pepper, Tabasco, bay leaf, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain. The sauce should not be too thick---thin with water if necessary.
To serve, arrange the potatoes in a bowl or on a dish. Spoon on several tablespoons of the tomato sauce, then 3 or 4 tablespoons of the Alioli. (note: You may make this dish without the Alioli, if you prefer.)