A recent trip to Lanzarote provided the perfect setting to spice up my Mojo! In the depth of winter Lanzarote is nice and warm, it enjoys an eternal spring – being on the same latitude as New Delhi!
Spice up your mojo here
For hundreds of years the Canary Islands were a stopping off point to and from South America. It’s probably the first place that potatoes were cultivated from different new world varieties. The Canary potatoes were traditionally cooked in sea water with lemon. After they are cooked and drained the salt dries onto the surface of the potato like a crust. They also go wrinkly and are called Papas Arrugadas or wrinkly potatoes.
Papas Arrugadas
While I was there I got invited to a cookery demo where the age old secrets for a spicy Mojo were revealed.
The mojo improving chefs
Papas Arrugadas or Wrinkly Potatoes
Ingredients
1kg Small New Potatoes
50g Sea Salt
half chunky sliced lemon
Method
1. Add the potatoes to a pot of very salty water (in the past the Canarians used sea-water).
2. The potatoes should float in the salty-water, if they don’t you need to add more salt.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until tender.
4. Now drain most of the water and remove the lemon.
5. Turn down the heat and gently shake the pot so that salt crystallizes on the potatoes.
6. Finally, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a tea-towel for 5 minutes (so that the potatoes turn ‘wrinkly’).
Serve with Mojo Sauce.
Ingredients for mojo sauce
Liquidise the ingredients and slowly add the oil
Mojo Verde (Green Mojo) Recipe
Ingredients
3 to 4 Garlic Cloves
200ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
80ml White Wine Vinegar
1 Handful of Fresh Coriander
1 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Large Green Pepper
Method
1. Peel the garlic cloves
2. De-seed and slice the pepper and chop the coriander leaves
3. Place the garlic, pepper, coriander, cumin, vinegar and salt in a blender and puree until finely chopped.
4. As it is blending, slowly mix in the olive oil to make the sauce.
green mojo sauce
Mojo Rojo (Red Sauce)
Ingredients
3 to 4 Garlic Cloves
200ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
75ml White Wine Vinegar
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Large Red Pepper
Method
1. Peel the garlic cloves
2. De-seed and slice the pepper.
3. Place the garlic, pepper, coriander, cumin, vinegar and salt in a blender and puree until finely chopped.
4. As it is blending, slowly mix in the olive oil.
Red Mojo
Delicious!
Categories: Plant-based Cooking & Recipes
No you can reduce the salt to your needs, the salty potatoes are a traditional canary isle dish, think it was to help preserve them
hello keith 🙂 i am so happy you have made this little “how to do” on the worlds greatest potatoes, i have visited lanzarote twice and have loved them every time, also being a lover of food and spice and all things nice i am thrilled at the recipie for the mojo sauce, the red in my books winning every time.
Again a big thank you and will reading more of your food blogs.
Hi Keith
I think I would like to have a bash at making this. Have you any suggestions for the Mojo Verde (Green Mojo) Recipe, as I can’t digest green peppers?
Thanks
Hi Hunny
You could leave out the pepper use more green herbs like parley and coriander perhaps add spinach or rocket instead
I have tried the dish. The recipe with spinach was terrible. I had to add too much oil, it does need the juiciness of the pepper. I held my breath and redid it with the green pepper. I managed to digest the pepper perhaps because it had been smoothied in the power blender I have. The pots were very salty but balanced somehow with the Mojo sauce, hmm, nice.