Recipe: Double-mashed potatoes (<i>patatas revolconas</i>)

Double-mashed potatoes (patatas revolconas)

Total time: 35 minutes

Servings: 6

Note: Adapted from “My Kitchen in Spain” by Janet Mendel. Both ibérico ham and smoked pimentón (paprika) are products of Extremadura. Smoked pimentón de la Vera can be sweet (dulce), bittersweet (agridulce) or hot (picante). This potato dish is served, instead of soup, as a first course or, accompanied by fried eggs, as a supper dish.

3 pounds boiling potatoes, about 3 large

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup olive oil

4 whole cloves garlic

1 tablespoon sweet pimentón de la Vera

Pinch of hot pimentón

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

3 ounces thinly sliced ibérico ham, at room temperature

1. Peel the potatoes, then cut them into chunks and cook in boiling salted water with the bay leaf until fork tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes, saving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon, adding one-half cup of the reserved liquid.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the cloves of garlic until they are golden, about 1 minute, then remove them to a blender container. Add the pimentón, cumin and salt and remaining one-half cup reserved liquid and blend until smooth.

3. Add the mashed potatoes to the oil in the skillet. Pour over the garlic mixture and mash it into the potatoes. Reheat, turning the potatoes in the oil. Serve the potatoes topped with the sliced ham.

Each serving: 304 calories; 7 grams protein; 44 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 9 mg. cholesterol; 2 grams sugar; 568 mg. sodium.