Who’d have thought an Irish travel party would be so interested in potatoes… or that the Tinerfeni, or inhabitants of Tenerife, were too?
But we are, and they are too.
There is much that is unique about these people…
And I have been giving you snippets in my few days on the Canaries Island.
With walking specialists CanariaWays.com http://www.CanariaWays.com, a branch of CaminoWays.com http://www.CaminoWays.com.
I’ll put it all together in a jumble of words, or story, as some people have so generously called them.
But here are some more morsels for you.
On potatoes, in your weekly food column Hungry and Thursday.
But now I’m on the subject of columns, where is our weekly cruise feature Cruiseday Tuesday I hear your scream?
Put off until this weekend because I was halfway up a volcano.
But it will be worth waiting for.
As I will give you the lowdown on the Viking Sun which stopped off in Dublin for day 5 of the Ultimate World Cruise.
But back to potatoes, and more specifically the wrinkly variety.
Now the Canadians love their wrinklies (which might be why they took to me).
These are small new potatoes which are unpeeled and boiled (originally in sea water but these days in salt).
When they are boiled the potatoes are briefly removed before being left on the pot.
To dry off until they become wrinkled with a fine salt crust.
I have a variation on that theme, my very own burnt potatoes.
The Tinerfeni have their boiling technique down to a fine art.
You’ll be encouraged to dip the potatoes in a sauce called mojo rojo.
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit
I was sure they were a Stock, Aitken and Waterman act of the 1980s but it is actually a child pepper garlic sauce, either green or red.
The Papas Arugadas (wrinkly potatoes) are an accompaniment to meat dishes, usually rabbit stew.
And you’ll never run out of either the wrinklies or the wrabbits (there are 30,000 of them on the island, one for every three people although they are seen as pests.
We were enlisted into the secret society of Elaboration mojo rojo (red sauce) and mojo verde (green sauce) makers in Santiago del Teide.
Being let loose with a chopping knife, a pestle and a board.
How to make the sauces
Now it couldn’t be easier – the mojo rojo is a couple of pinchfuls of palm tree paper, garlic, oregano, salt, spicy pepper and olive oil.
While the mojo verde is even easier, coriander, garlic, salt and olive oil.
So why did it all look like a slurpy mess while my esteemed Travel colleague Tom Sweeney www.tomsweeneytravels.blogspot.com and his team looked as if they had made a produce worthy of Dragons Den?
And good enough to eat.
Which we did with our lunch in the charming farmhouse of La Casona del Patio. www.la-casona-del-patio.santiago-del-teide.hotel-tenerife.net.
Of course, you’re not going to see my finished product.
I don’t want you suing me for bringing on nausea and sickness!
For more information on how to get to Tenerife, Aer Lingus http://www.aerlingus.com flies seven times a week from Dublin and up to two flights a week from Cork during their winter schedule.
Fares from €66.99 one way.
And all that you’ll enjoy on the island http://www.webtenerife.com and http://www.webtenerife.co.uk/tenerifenolimits.
And if you’ve enjoyed that, here are some more Tenerife thoughts… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/02/tenerife-and-scotland-wave-the-same-flag/ https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/03/vegging-out-in-tenerife/ and https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/04/a-walk-in-the-park-tenerife/.
And a couple of Camino trips… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/camino-a-pilgrims-prayer/. And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/small-roads-lead-to-rome/.
Now off to make a Tenerife Jocktail… and share it with you.
