I wrote this recipe a couple of years ago when I was teaching a kitchen garden program & we were having to do classes remotely. I loved including recipes where children could still manage to harvest something for the recipe themselves & herbs are accessible to grow regardless of whether you are in an apartment or a house.
Herbs are a good way to add a vital element to cooking. They are easy to grow & can be easily picked and eaten straight away, giving you the light codes, earth electrons & structured water directly gathered from the plants from that day, enlivening the rest of the meal.
Light & water are conduits for spiritual & etheric information & they also synergise to carry biological information into our cells & tissues from plants & animals that they themselves have gathered from the earth, sun & water. The sooner food is eaten from the time of harvest, the stronger those biological messengers are.
This traditional Spanish dish is easy to make & makes a great side dish or as part of a large tapas spread.
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1kg medium organic potatoes, peeled
1 red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
3 tbsp olive oil
3 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from stems
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 × 400 g tin/jar diced tomatoes
1 & ½ tsp salt
1 tsp of maple syrup or sugar
1 handful of parsley, finely chopped
Optional – some good quality store bought or homemade olive oil mayonnaise/aioli
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Peel potatoes. Put in a saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil, and then simmer for 10-15 minutes until just tender. Drain well, and cut the potatoes into 2cm-3cm chunks. Toss in a shallow roasting pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil and a big pinch of sea salt. Roast for 30-45 minutes until golden and crisp, shake the pan 3-4 times while cooking to make sure they are evenly roasted.
To make the brava sauce add 3 tbsp of olive oil in a deep frying pan or large sauté pan and cook the onion on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, cumin and salt. Stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, then pour in the tomatoes & thyme leaves and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.
Set aside to cool a little, then use a stick blender or blender to whizz the sauce to a purée.
Spoon half the Brava sauce onto a serving platter, then top with the potatoes. Spoon over a little more sauce, top with some aioli if using and sprinkle over the parsley to serve.