Toñi, the grandmother cook: “The tastiest French fries don't just have salt; it's better to add garlic, parsley, and a splash of vinegar.”
Diners: 4
- Potatoes for frying, 1.2 kg
- Extra virgin olive oil, the amount needed for frying
- Salt, to taste
- Garlic, 3 cloves
- Fresh parsley, 1/2 small bunch
- Wine vinegar, 1 splash, about 2 tablespoons
- Water, 2 tablespoons
- Eggs, 8 units, 2 per person
- Serrano ham, 8 thick slices
- Green peppers, 2 units
- Step 1 Peel the potatoes, wash them whole and cut them into slices that are not too thin, about 3 or 4 millimeters thick.
- Step 2 Heat plenty of extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and add the potatoes with a little salt. Fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender and starting to brown around the edges.
- Step 3 Meanwhile, in a mortar, crush the peeled garlic cloves with the parsley and a pinch of salt until you have a green paste. Add the vinegar and two tablespoons of water and stir.
- Step 4 When the potatoes are almost ready, remove the excess oil and pour the garlic and parsley mixture over them. Gently swirl the pan, without crushing the slices, and let it cook for a couple of minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Step 5 In another pan, fry the green peppers cut into strips, and then the ham, just a few seconds on each side so that it is crispy, but not dry.
- Step 6 Finally, fry the eggs in very hot oil and remove them quickly, with the edges cooked and the yolks still runny. Arrange the potatoes on a platter, place the eggs and peppers on top, and serve the ham alongside.
There are few things more satisfying than freshly fried potatoes, perfectly salted. Golden on the outside, tender on the inside, and served still hot, they are, for many, a true indulgence.
The problem is that even what we like the most can end up becoming boring if we always eat it the same way.
And Toñi's recipe could be the solution to break out of that routine without turning something as simple as frying potatoes into a recipe with endless steps. It only requires three common kitchen ingredients and barely a minute more of work.
This woman from Albacete has become very popular on social media (@toni_abuela_manchega on Instagram) by sharing videos of recipes she records in her own kitchen, where she might fry some potatoes and then, a moment later, start dancing.
In one of those publications, he explains his recipe for preparing "patatas al montón" (piled potatoes), but with a final touch that, he explains, is known as "a la patagorrina" (pig's-style).
It sounds complicated, but it's as simple as a paste of garlic and parsley with vinegar and a little water. A humble mixture to make your fries anything but ordinary.
Why are they called pile potatoes?
The potatoes are peeled, sliced into fairly thick rounds, and cooked all together in a generous amount of olive oil.
The heat should be rather gentle, because the intention is not to fry them quickly, but to cook them slowly, confiting them.
That's precisely where the "pile" comes from. The slices are piled up in the pan and cooked together, without worrying about them sticking together. They're also known as "pile potatoes," because the potatoes are fried in a pile.
Actually, it's the easiest way to fry potatoes, and they're ready when they're very tender and only slightly toasted on the outside.
Therefore, in this preparation, it's not advisable to rinse the slices once cut. Doing so would remove some of the starch that helps achieve the tender and slightly mushy texture that characterizes these potatoes.
The recipe inevitably brings to mind the "poor man's potatoes" of Andalusia, and we could even say that "pile potatoes" are its Manchegan relatives.
