(I know I said no notes…but I do have a few things to say).
I have forgotten to update my adoring fans with the regional changes. Whoopsie. She is a professional to be sure.
Patatas a la Riojana are from..wait for it…La Rioja, the region directly south of us. And they are TASTY.
For me, this was a comforting Spanish take on a Polish classic: Kielbasa and Potatoes (and cabbage). All the same elements are there, this just had red pepper paste instead of cabbage. Which lacked the weird stink that cabbage inevitably fills your kitchen with, and in that way, I think I might like this better. One point to the spaniards.
This is a colossally easy recipe in that you really just sear the sausage until the juices come out (gross), and then toss in the paste, potatoes, and broth. Then let it simmer until the potatoes are soft. The sausage used here is a Spanish chorizo. I need to do some more research on the difference between their chorizo and chorizo back home - because it definitely is different. This particular one had a nice kick of spice to it. Which is out of character for a Spanish dish, they seem allergic to any even moderate amount of heat (it’s somewhat tragic that they didn’t bring chili peppers back with them from their conquests…what a waste of horrible behavior and disregard for human life).
So what’s up with La Rioja? First of all, it is super well known for it’s wines. And I can attest, they are quite good. I obviously bought a bottle to drink during our Rioja recipes, so that I could “fully experience” it.
Like much of Europe, La Rioja’s history is peppered with takeover after takeover by different groups. It was only officially coined “La Rioja” in 1980, after Franco was finally toppled and Spain started to put together its democracy. The name comes from one of the rivers that runs through it, “Oja”. And river is “rio”, so you can see how they put that together. It is considered an “autonomous community”. These - to my understanding - function sort of the same as States do in the US. It is the smallest autonomous community, and apparently many of its little towns don’t have populations over 200. Which is quaint and I would like to be invited to a nice dinner in one of them.
Appreciate the education AND entertainment value of your posts 😂🙏🏻