Introduction: Microwave Patatas a Lo Pobre (Poor Man's Potatoes)
You took a quick coffee at 7 o'clock in the morning. You had a small 5 minute break at your workplace, enough to wait in the line for the coffee machine, search a lonely corner, put off your facemask and take a quick dip of the hot beverage. When you arrive home at 4 o'clock you feel hungry. Should you cook some instant noodles? Maybe a can of baked beans?
Here is a solution: "Patatas a lo pobre", a Spanish recipe for a simple potato meal, adapted to microwave.
Supplies
Edibles:
- Some potatoes (I use one per person).
- Olive oil (If it is too expensive in your country, replace with sunflower oil).
- Either Onion or garlic (If you use onion, you can use your baked potatoes to make a Spanish potato omelet).
- Salt
Tools:
- Microwave (traditional recipe uses oven but lasts hours).
- Chopping knife.
- Peeler (you can replace it with peeling knife if you are skilled).
- Cutting board
- A microwave-safe container with a lid. I use either a tempered-glass bowl with lid or a silicone pot with lid.
Step 1: Peel Potatoes
Wash the potato to remove excess dirt from its skin.
Peel it using the peeler.
Wash the peeled potato.
Step 2: Cut Your Potato in Small Slices
Cut your potato into thin slices. Don't make them too thin. About 3 or 4 mm is right (see photo).
We don't want crispy potatoes. We just want some texture. Which is why we will not rinse slices into water: we'll keep the starch.
Step 3: Chop Some Onion
Chop some onion and add it to the potatoes. The photo shows half an onion, but I only used about an eight of it (half the half of the quantity in the photo). I just find easier to chop half an onion at once and freeze the remaining for later use.
Step 4: Add Some Olive Oil, and Salt
Add some olive oil. About a teaspoon of it. You just want to make sure all the potatoes are dipped in the oil.
Add some salt.
Optional: put the lid in your container and shake it to mix all ingredients.
Step 5: Bake in Microwave for 6 Minutes
Put the lid on your bowl.
Put the bowl in your microwave oven.
Set the microwave oven for 6 minutes at max power (800W-1000W). Actual power is different from microwave to microwave, so it is a matter of trial and error.
Step 6: Final Result
This is the final result. These potatoes have a texture a bit softer if you compare with those used as garnish in roasted lamb/pig, but a bit harder compared with boiled potatoes. Personally, I like that texture.
Serving suggestions:
- You can use these potatoes as garnish with a fried egg or a steak.
- The cooked potatoes you get with this recipe can be used as the starting point for a Spanish potato omelette if you add them to a bown of whipped egg, let dip for 5 minutes, and then cook the mix in a saucepan. The tricky point of making a potato omelette is turning the omelette, and I am not very skilled at it.