Receta Faux Patatas Bravas; the Paleo Diet?
These are not as hot as the ‘real’ ones in Spain.
If you would like more heat add red pepper flakes or a few drops of bottled hot sauce.
Leftover Pimiento Sauce is good on pasta, grilled chicken, hamburgers….
The translation is ‘Fierce Potatoes’ (not ‘brave’).
Faux Patatas Bravas
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 tsp Herbes de Provence
- 1 tbs sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp paprika
- Pimiento Sauce:
- 4oz (125gr) pimento (pimiento) or roasted red peppers
- 1 cup (8oz, 240gr) tomato sauce
- 1 shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 – 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp Balsamic vinegar
- Red pepper flakes, if you want more heat
Instructions:
Cut potatoes into large pieces.
Whisk together the oil, herbs and vinegar.
Add potatoes and toss to coat.
Cook in grill pan on barbecue grill about 25 minutes or until done and starting to brown and get a bit crispy.
Or you can roast them in the oven: Arrange potatoes on baking sheet with rim (I use my trusty, round pizza pan) Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
Gently warm 1/3 – 1/2 cup Pimiento Sauce.
When potatoes are done, put into a bowl and pour warmed Pimiento Sauce over – just enough to very lightly coat.
Sprinkle with paprika and serve.
Pimiento Sauce:
Finely chop shallot and garlic.
Heat oil in small sauce pan over medium heat.
Add chili powder, shallot, garlic and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Purée with blender or immersion blender.
I have rendered my opinion on diets in the past.
I have rendered my opinion on the Paleo Diet, specifically, in the past.
In a nutshell, I believe that any diet that eliminates important food groups is not healthy, any diet that is too restrictive will be impossible to maintain, and the secret to weight loss / control and good health is, are you ready for this?
Healthy eating and exercise.
Healthy eating is incorporating all the foods that we need to maintain our bodies into our daily diet.
And not eating any of them in excess.
For the record, I don’t know of any study that says ‘guar gum’ or any of many other things that get into processed foods, are needed to maintain our health.
The reason I’m dredging up all this old news is I got a blurb today from Discover magazine regarding the Paleo Diet
“Even our ancestors never really ate the ‘Paleo’ diet.”
According to the Paleo diet humans have not yet adjusted to eating grains and other agricultural products.
According to research our ancestors may have been eating grains and grasses for around 2.5 million years – ample time to adjust, rather than the 10,000 years the Paleo diet maintains.
I say ‘may’ because it has proven extremely difficult to determine what our ancestors were eating during any particular time-frame.
Difficult for everyone, archaeologists, researchers and Paleo diet proponents alike.
I’m not going into any more details – read the article if you’re interested.
And if you want some lighter reading on the subject: Paleomythic:How people really lived in the stone age.
Do you think our Paleo ancestors were always looking for the quick fix and next get-rich scheme, too?
Maybe, some day, common sense will prevail, once again.
Whew…. That’s 2 rants in a row – best lighten up a bit (she says to self).
Last Updated on June 7, 2013