Potaje de Arvejas Canario

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4 litre pot or olla
• •Mortar and pestle or sturdy bowl with fork
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the sofrito

   Warm the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and a pinch of salt, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until soft, dark gold, and sweet. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook 1 minute more. The sofrito, the slow onion base, must not be rushed; pale onion gives you a pale broth.

   If the pan dries before the onion softens, add a spoonful of water and keep going. Water saves the sofrito from scorching without making it taste boiled.
2. 2

   Build the broth

   Stir in the grated tomato and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the oil begins to show at the edge and the tomato has lost its raw smell. Take the pot briefly off the heat, stir in the pimentón and 1/2 teaspoon cumin, then add the bay leaf, potatoes, pumpkin, and stock or water. Return to the heat and bring to a gentle simmer.

3. 3

   Simmer the vegetables

   Cook uncovered at a quiet simmer for 15 minutes. Add the bubango and cook 10 to 12 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender and the pumpkin yields easily to a spoon. Do not stir hard. Shake the pot now and then so the pieces stay whole.

4. 4

   Make the majado

   Lift out 2 pieces of potato, 2 pieces of pumpkin, and 2 pieces of bubango into a mortar or bowl. Add the remaining garlic clove, a pinch of cumin, half the cilantro, the parsley, and a little hot broth. Crush to a rough paste. This majado is the body of the potaje; it thickens the broth with its own vegetables, tal como se hace allí.

5. 5

   Add the peas

   Stir the majado back into the pot, then add the peas. Simmer 5 to 7 minutes for frozen peas, or 8 to 10 minutes for fresh peas, just until tender and still green. Taste for salt and black pepper. If the potaje is too thick, loosen it with a little water; if it is thin, simmer 3 minutes more uncovered.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the potaje rest for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining cilantro just before serving, so it tastes fresh instead of cooked flat. Ladle into deep bowls with a thread of olive oil on top. Bread beside it is sensible. A spoon is not optional.

Chef Tips

• •Bubango is the Canarian courgette, usually rounder and a little firmer than the slim courgette many cooks find abroad. Use a small firm courgette instead, cut thick, and add it only after the potatoes have started to soften.
• •Fresh peas are lovely when they are sweet. Frozen peas are often better than tired fresh ones, and there is no shame in that. Add frozen peas near the end so they keep their green taste.
• •Do not thicken this with flour or cream. The Canarian way here is the majado: cooked vegetables crushed with garlic, cumin, and herbs, then returned to the pot. It gives body without making the stew heavy.
• •If you want it more filling, serve it with a spoonful of gofio stirred into your own bowl, not the whole pot. Gofio thickens fast and keeps thickening as it sits.
• •This potaje keeps well for two days, but the peas lose some brightness. Reheat gently and freshen each bowl with a little chopped cilantro and a thread of olive oil.

Advance Preparation

• •Chop the onion, pepper, potatoes, pumpkin, and bubango up to 12 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator. Keep the potatoes in cold water, then drain before cooking.
• •The sofrito can be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated. Start the recipe from the tomato step and the potaje becomes a weeknight dish.
• •Leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 days. Reheat over low heat with a splash of water, shaking the pot instead of stirring hard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 420g)