What are Canarian potatoes?

If there is any dish that comes to mind if you think about Canarian food, it’s the Canarian potatoes, also known as papas arrugadas! These tiny wrinkled potatoes In combination with the mojo sauce is a true delicacy and a must-try if you visit Tenerife. The history of these Canarian potatoes is quite impressive. In the 16th century, the potatoes were brought to Spain all the way from South America, and from there on brought to the Canary Islands.

Available in just about any restaurant in Tenerife

At first, people didn’t really know what to do with these potatoes, so they were used as an exhibition at the botanical gardens. Nowadays it’s become an important part of the food culture in the Canary Islands. Almost every restaurant in Tenerife serves Canarian potatoes together with mojo sauce.

Canarian potatoes are gluten-free

Since the Canarian potatoes are gluten-free and also suitable for vegans, it’s a very popular dish. If you would like to buy the Canarian potatoes for yourself, then most of the large supermarkets in the Canary Islands should normally have both mojo sauce and potatoes in their selection. Down below, you can find Canarian potatoes with mojo sauce recipe.

Mojo Sauce Recipe

What is a mojo sauce? Mojo sauce is well known in the Canary Islands and is either red or green – mojo rojo and mojo verde. Both are often served at the same time and are eaten with meat, fish and, of course, the Canarian potatoes. Buying the mojo sauce outside of the canary islands is often difficult. That’s why making your own mojo sauce is a great solution. This is a mojo recipe that we like, but feel free to tweak it:

Red mojo sauce

1 piece of bread torn into tiny pieces
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 large red peppers thickly chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 small chillies chopped
6 cloves chopped garlic

Green mojo sauce

1/2 cup of fresh chopped coriander or parsley
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 slice of bread torn into tiny pieces
2 large green bell peppers roughly chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 cloves of garlic minced
4 tablespoons olive oil

Put all the ingredients for the green mojo or red mojo sauce in your blender and mix until everything is well dissolved and you have a solid sauce. Pour the mojo sauce into a jar and keep it in the fridge for up to two months.

Canarian Potatoes Recipe

How to make Canarian potatoes? In order to make this dish, you should look for either Papa Negra (Tenerife), Papa Bonita (Gran Canaria) or small-sized quick-cooking potatoes. The truly authentic way to make papas arrugadas is by boiling the potatoes in seawater. This recipe for Canarian potatoes is an easy alternative.
You need:

• 1¼ pounds (about 1 kg) of small, quick-cooking potatoes.
• ¼ cup of coarse sea salt.
• Large stockpot.