Canarian cuisine reflects the islands' environment and cultural identity. Its gastronomy combines autochthonous products with African, Latin American, and Mediterranean influences, resulting in flavorful cuisine deeply connected to the land.
Among its most emblematic recipes are papas arrugás with mojo, a dish as simple as it is delicious, made with small boiled potatoes served with red or green mojo, a typical local sauce based on garlic, oil, vinegar, and spices.
But the richness of Canarian cuisine goes much further: fish sancocho, gofio, ropa vieja, rabbit in salmorejo, or escaldón de gofio are other examples of this cuisine full of flavor, history, and authenticity.
On this journey of the traveling anchovy, our chef Javier Ruiz wanted to pay homage to the Canary Islands by reinterpreting the popular papas arrugás to create a very original recipe: Potato Bites, Red Mojo, and White Tuna.
A dish that you can use as an appetizer, pincho, or tapa, and that condenses the essence of the archipelago and the Cantabrian Sea.
THE TRAVELING ANCHOVY IN... THE CANARY ISLANDS
INGREDIENTS
To make this recipe you will need:
- Pujadó Solano White Tuna
- Small potatoes
- Red mojo (you can buy it or make it yourself)
PREPARATION
- Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until they are tender and their skin is wrinkled.
- Let them cool down so you can handle them without breaking.
- Carefully peel the potatoes and hollow out their inside with a spoon, forming small cylinders with the potatoes.
- Fill the potato with red mojo.
- Finish each bite by placing slices of White Tuna on top of the cylinder.
HOMEMADE CANARIAN MOJO
If you want to make homemade Canarian mojo, you will need:
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (you can mix it with a little hot paprika if you like it more intense)
- 1 small dried chili or a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Salt to taste
- 1 or 2 tablespoons of water
MOJO PREPARATION
- Peel the garlic and crush it with the cumin in a mortar until you get a fine paste.
- Add the paprika (and the chili or cayenne if you are using it) and mix well.
- Gradually add the oil and vinegar while continuing to mix until the sauce emulsifies.
- Adjust salt to taste and, if it is too thick, you can add a little water to lighten the texture.
