Spanish Poor Man's Potatoes: Patatas a lo Pobre

This Spanish dish is from the Andalusia region of southern Spain. The capital of the region is Seville. You can use two medium to large potatoes or 6 small potatoes. When I made the potatoes for this article, I used 6 small red skin potatoes, which I washed well and then dried; thus, I left the skins on. You don't want to really "fry" the potatoes in the olive oil, in the sense of making them crispy, but rather you are cooking the potatoes through and thus softening them, and lightly browning some of them. The Spanish name of the dish literally means "potatoes of the poor," but the common English translation is "poor man's potatoes," because the ingredients are basic, although in more modern times the dish is eaten by Spanish people from all income levels of society. Add a fried egg or two and the dish is a great lunch, and don't forget some good bread.  

 

Ingredients:

 

2 large/medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into about 1/4 inch thick slices (you can leave the skins on, if you've washed the potatoes well)

1/2 cup chopped onion (red or white)

1/2 green bell pepper, cut into strips

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips

3 garlic cloves, peeled and "crushed"

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

garnish with cilantro, parsley or chives  

In a skillet (nonstick or cast iron, about 10 inch diameter) over medium heat, add enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan by about 1/4 inch. When the oil is hot, add the potato slices. Use a turner or a spatula to turn and to move the potatoes around, as the object here is not to make crispy fried potatoes. When the potatoes are about half cooked (softening, but still very firm), add the onion, green and red bell pepper and garlic. Keep turning and moving the ingredients regularly until everything softens. Season with salt and pepper. Use a slotted spoon or turner to remove the ingredients from the skillet and to allow the oil to drain off, although I must admit I like to leave some of the oil and to then use some good bread to sop up the flavorful extra virgin olive oil (see photos below). Garnish with some chopped cilantro, parsley or chives. Serve as an appetizer or a side dish, or fry an egg or two and serve as a lunch dish.

 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Sup (Super)-English has more than one word of this spelling, although they are related; indeed, the various relatives in English and in the other Germanic languages are rather difficult to separate out from one another. First, "sup," a verb form meaning, "to take food or drink into the mouth in small amounts." It is related to "sip," a word from Germanic, and likely an original English word (there were close forms in Old English/Anglo-Saxon), although "perhaps" borrowed in "sip's" form and meaning from close English relative, Low German. It is also related to "soak," "suck" and "sop," all words from the Germanic roots of English. Further, it is related to "soup," with Latin having borrowed a basic form from Germanic, and eventually borrowed by English via Latin-based French (keep reading). "Sup" goes back to Indo European "su/sewe," which meant, "to take in liquid," which developed the extended form "sub/sup." This gave Old Germanic the verb "supanan," meaning, "to drink, to take in liquid, to sip, to gulp." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "supan" ("suppan" Northumbrian dialect?) meaning, "to take in liquid, to drink, to taste." This then became "suppen" (then "supp?") before the modern version. Other Germanic relatives: German "saufen" ^ ("to drink," used properly of animals, but also, "to drink alcohol in excess;" that is, "to guzzle;" not uncommon to hear something jokingly like, "Trinkt dein Onkel Alkohol?" Then the answer: "Nein, er trinkt nicht, er säuft." ("Does your uncle drink alcohol?" "No, he doesn't drink, he guzzles." Low German Saxon has "supen" ("to drink lots of alcohol"), Dutch "zuipen" ("to booze, to guzzle alcohol"), Icelandic "súpa" ("to drink," seems little used now?), Swedish "supa" ("to drink alcohol to excess"). Remember, in most cases the original meaning was, as in English, "to drink or take in liquid," but the "drink alcohol to excess" meaning later became the dominant meaning in the Germanic languages, and often the original meaning grew to be little used. The other verb "sup," meaning, "to eat the evening meal," is closely related to "soup." It goes back to the same Indo European and Old Germanic forms as the first verb "sup." Latin borrowed a form from one of the Germanic tribes (Lombardic? Gothic?) as "suppa," meaning, "broth, bread soaked in broth." This passed to Latin-based French as "sope," then "soupe." Broth was a common nighttime food, and the word "sope" provided the basis for "soper," which meant "late evening meal." Unclear to me if "soper," the noun, came first, and provided the basis for "soper," the verb, "to eat a late evening meal," or rather the other way around; in which case, the noun is likely simply the use of the infinitive as a noun. In any case, the form "super" was the form among the Normans and their descendants in England and English borrowed the word in the mid 1200s and it became "supper," "the last meal of the day," and the verb form "to eat the last meal of the day." This was shortened to become the verb "sup." Not everyone in English speaking areas will likely agree to exactly what "supper" means. When I was growing up, people in our neighborhood would have defined "supper" as "a relatively large serving of food eaten in the late afternoon or early evening," after the arrival of the family worker or workers (certainly in those times typically seen as the husband/father). "Dinner" was not a common term in my neighborhood in that same sense. Other Americans, however, called such a meal "dinner," and they rarely use the word "supper." Some perhaps see "dinner" as being at least a little more formal meal. In the famous television comedy series "All In The Family," when Archie Bunker would get home from work, he was always after his wife Edith to, "get supper on the table." In the 1962 British film "The Phantom of the Opera," in this film set in London,^^ one of the characters says something to the effect of having "dinner," and "then later, we may have some supper."           

^ A sound shift in the high dialects of German brought a change to "f" from "p." Modern standard German "saufen" was once spelled "sufan," and then "sufen." By the way, in German, a "Säufer" is "a drunk, an alcoholic."

^^ For the article about this film, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-phantom-of-opera-1962.html