Canary Islands Potatoes: Papas Arrugadas

NOTE: The Canary Islands are a part of Spain and are located about 60 to 65 miles off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean

"Papas Arrugadas" means "wrinkled potatoes." The name comes from the tendency of the potato skins to wrinkle during the cooking process. In Spanish, potatoes are primarily called "patatas" in mainland Spain, while they are called "papas" in the Canary Islands and in the large Spanish speaking communities of Central and South America. "Mojo picón" is a sauce often used on the Canary Islands. It can be red ("rojo," as below) or green ("verde," usually made with garlic, cilantro and parsley).

Often dried red peppers are used after first being soaked in water for a period of time. You want to use small potatoes, and the color is not important; in fact, I used a mix of small white potatoes and small red potatoes. Fingerling potatoes, also just called "fingerlings," by some, would also be great.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/4 pounds small potatoes
1/3 cup coarse sea salt
water to barely cover

For the mojo picón:

1 1/2 to 2 cups roasted red bell pepper (well drained, if using from a jar)
2 hot red chili peppers (like cayenne peppers)*, stems removed
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 slices white bread (lightly toasted)
1/2 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika 
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (your preference) 

It is best to make this sauce a few hours before cooking the potatoes. Use a food processor or blender for the sauce. Put all of the ingredients into a blender/food processor. Blend/process until smooth. Best when refrigerated for at least a couple of hours before using. The sauce should have some "heat," but not blazing heat, although you can make it as hot or as mild as you like. For mild, I'd recommend using just 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes. 

Leave the skins on the potatoes. Wash the potatoes well then put them into a pan and barely cover them with cold water. Sprinkle in the sea salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook them until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes and return the pan to very low heat until the potatoes are dried. Do not remove the residual salt that is left on the potatoes. Serve the potatoes with some of the sauce drizzled over them.

* While I prefer to use fresh chilies for this sauce, dried chilies, red pepper flakes, or ground cayenne pepper can be used.

You can see some of the salt residue on a few of the potatoes, but there is more salt that is unseen...

With mojo picón... 

WORD HISTORY;
Sherry-This word for a fortified wine from southwestern Spain comes from the name of the Spanish city of Jerez, which had been spelled "Xeres." It was used for "Vino de Xeres" (wine of Xeres), but the Spanish name was mistaken by English speakers to be a plural; thus, "sherry," which was borrowed into English circa 1600. The name of the city is a derivative of "Caesar," a word of unknown origin, although of course it came to be used as a name and ruling title.