Caldo de Papas Canario

Caldo de Papas Canario belongs to the Canary Islands, and it is as humble as a supper can be: potatoes, garlic, onion, a little tomato and green pepper, water, cilantro, and an egg poached in the broth at the end. What makes it Canarian is that green, clean hit of cilantro with the papas, not a heavy meat stock or a stew thickened until it forgets it was a broth.

The method that decides it is the base. Cook the onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato slowly in olive oil until the tomato loses its raw edge and the onion turns soft and sweet. It is a small sofrito, the slow onion base, and if you rush it the broth tastes watery no matter how many potatoes you add. Then the papas go in, broken a little at the edges so their starch clouds the broth just enough.

Use waxy potatoes if you can, the kind that hold their shape but give a little body to the liquid. If you are far from the islands, Yukon Gold or any small yellow potato will do; the broth will be a touch creamier and less firm, and that is no tragedy. Cilantro is not parsley here. Parsley makes a different soup, polite but wrong.

Poach the eggs gently so the whites set and the yolks stay soft, then serve each bowl with a spoonful of broth over the egg and a little more cilantro. This is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, quick and cheap, but not careless. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.