Poor Man’s Potatoes

We thought we’d make the first blog post about patatas a la pobre, or poor man’s potatoes, because the idea behind the year of the potato is that you can eat well without spending a lot of money.

15 tablespoons olive oil
3 large spanish onions, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
3 green peppers, roughly chopped
4 bay leaves
1kg firm, waxy potatoes, peeled
salt and pepper

Set a large saucepan over a medium heat and add five tablespoons of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Cook the onion slowly, turning down the heat if necessary, for about 20 to 30 minutes. Now add the garlic, peppers and bay leaves and cook for 15 more minutes. Meanwhile, cut the potatoes in half lengthways and each half in two or three wedges. Salt them lightly and leave for five minutes.

When the peppers have softened, add the remaining oil and when the oil is hot, add the potatoes. Let everything simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

We decided if we made this again, we’d make it with fresh chillies.

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