Skip to main content

Peasant-Style Potatoes

This is closely related to the Tortilla (page 341) so frequently served as a tapa in Spain, but it’s simply potato and olive oil, kind of Spanish home fries. A little garlic is nice but not essential. Serve as you would any home fries. You can use all-purpose potatoes for this (like Yukon Gold) or red or white waxy potatoes, but don’t use baking potatoes, which will simply fall apart as they soften.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds (4 or 5 medium) potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon minced garlic, optional
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Peel and thinly slice the potatoes; if you have a mandoline, use it, but on its thickest setting—you want slices about 1/8 inch thick.

    Step 2

    Put the oil in an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet and turn the heat to medium; 3 or 4 minutes later, drop in a slice of potato. When tiny bubbles appear around the edges of the potato, the oil is ready; add all of the potatoes along with a fair amount of salt and pepper.

    Step 3

    Gently turn the potatoes occasionally, keeping the heat at medium until, 15 to 20 minutes later, they are tender. At that point, turn the heat up so the potatoes brown a bit. Add the garlic, if you’re using it, during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then garnish and serve hot.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
Read More
Like airy lemon chiffon cake and a Cadbury egg–inspired tart.
Like coconut lentil soup and chicken stroganoff.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
A warmly spiced Ashkenazi charoset, perfect for your Passover seder—or spooned over yogurt the next morning.
Use this simple vinaigrette to dress a plate of greens, some steamed potatoes, or anything else that strikes your fancy.
Put that half-full tub to use with recipes that go beyond the Italian American classics.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.