Papas Pastores (Shepherd Potatoes)

 My Mexico, p. 135

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound (450 g) very small new potatoes, rinsed and dried

Salt to taste

½ cup (83 ml) finely chopped white onion

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

3 serrano chilies (or to taste), finely chopped

½ cup (125 ml) loosely packed roughly chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 cup (250 ml) water (1/2 cup/125 ml if using pressure cooker)

No dirty potatoes!

Heat the oil in a heavy pan, add the whole potatoes, sprinkle with salt, and fry, stirring them from time to time until the skins begin to wrinkle and brown. Add the onion, garlic, and chiles and fry for 3 minutes longer. Add the cilantro and lime juice and continue frying for 1 minute more. Add the water, cover the pan, and cook over low heat until the liquid has almost all been absorbed the flavors concentrated, and the potatoes tender.

See all that flavor? That's about to cook into those potatoes!

NOTE: If using the pressure cooker, cook the potatoes at low pressure for about 6 minutes with all the ingredients. Cool the pressure cooker quickly in a bowl of cold water, remove the lid, and continue cooking over high heat until the liquid has been absorbed.

My partner had a steak with his. I'm on a no-red-meat diet these days, so I enjoyed some turkey bacon.

My Rating: 5/5 "The neat thing about this dish is that it isn't a firework display of flavor. You'd think that with all those peppers and other powerful veggies that the potatoes would be overwhelmed with spice. But they're not! They just absorb the most delicate accent of all the seasoning and come out as a subtly upgraded version of their potato-y selves. The texture is amazing, too!"