Introduction: Microwave Patatas a Lo Pobre (Poor Man's Potatoes)

By Maestro de Nada
About: Highschool language teacher.

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.