Papas arrugadas con mojo: Canary Islands salt-wrinkled potatoes

Ingredients

• 800 g small waxy potatoes, Canarian Bonita, Negra, Papa Bonita or Yema de huevo; substitute small blue or purple fingerling, unpeeled
• 35–40 g per litre of water coarse sea salt, enough to make the water as salty as the sea
• For the mojo rojo
• 2–3 dried guindilla chillies, or similar dried red chilli
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet pimentón
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 100 ml olive oil
• For the mojo verde
• 1 small bunch fresh coriander, or flat-leaf parsley; Canarian tradition favours coriander
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 100 ml olive oil

Method

1. 1
   Make the mojo rojo. Soak the dried guindilla chillies briefly in warm water to soften, then drain. Blend with the garlic, cumin, pimentón, vinegar and olive oil to a smooth, slightly thick sauce. Season with salt. Make the mojo verde by blending the fresh coriander (or parsley), garlic, cumin, vinegar and olive oil to an equally smooth sauce. Both mojos improve if made a day ahead and left covered at room temperature until serving.
2. 2
   Place the unpeeled potatoes in a single pot and cover completely with cold water. Add salt at 35–40 g per litre — the water must taste as salty as the sea. Bring to the boil and cook until the potatoes are fully tender throughout.
3. 3
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Drain the pot entirely, return the potatoes to the dry hot pot over a medium flame, and shake the pot continuously for 2–3 minutes. The residual water must evaporate completely: the skins will wrinkle, shrink and turn dry, and a visible white crust of crystallised salt will form on the surface of each potato.
4. 4
   Serve immediately, unpeeled, with both mojos presented alongside. The red-green contrast is traditional; together the two sauces balance each other.