Recipe: patatas viudas
Culinary traditions associated with Easter week, designed to comply with strict religious observation, are fascinating given the incredible inventiveness used to create them. Take patatas viudas (widow potatoes) for example. Why are they called this? Because they don’t have any meat (carne in Spanish), so they get the name “widow” from this absence of “carnality”.
The preparation involved to make them is equally ingenious and requires the most basic of ingredients: potatoes, onions, red pepper, laurel, 2 tomatoes, 1 clove of garlic, salt, olive oil
Start by peeling, washing, and cutting the potatoes into pieces. Next add a little oil to a pan and lightly fry the red pepper, chopped onion, garlic, and laurel. Add the potatoes and stir on low heat, then add paprika and keep stirring.
After a few minutes add water until the potatoes are covered and let cook. Meanwhile, grind the garlic with the salt and add to the pan.
The key to this recipe is to make sure the potatoes are cooked but not dissolved and that the water forms a thick, reddish broth. It should take about 20 minutes, but if it looks like the potatoes have the right consistency and the sauce looks right, you can take it off the burner sooner.
And that’s it, a delicious and easy recipe that fills the belly and calms the soul!