A Canarian Feast

Lately, I’ve been cooking lots of Hungarian dishes, and it really reinforced my belief that sometimes the simplest meals bring the biggest surprises. This Spanish-inspired combination is just as simple — incredibly easy to prepare, yet absolutely delicious. Mojo Verde is a fresh, flavorful and silky Canarian green sauce made of cilantro, garlic, olive oil and cumin, simply divine!

INGREDIENTS (For 2 )

about 600 g of small potatoes

500g Padron peppers

500g peeled shrimp

2 heads of garlic

1 fresh chilli

plenty of olive oil

mojo sauce:

1 big bunch of fresh cilantro (coriander)

1/2 bunch of parsley

3 cloves garlic

juice of ½ lime or lemon

½ teaspoon Roman cumin

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

120 ml or ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD:

1. Prepare the mojo sauce: Blend all the ingredients together, adding the oil gradually until you like the consistency. Done.

2. Wash the potatoes, pat them lightly (it’s fine if they stay a little damp — the salt sticks better), then season them generously with salt. Place them in an oiled baking dish and roast in the oven at 200°C.

3. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper, then divide them between two small ovenproof dishes. (If you have mini cast-iron pans, they look great for serving too.)

4. Peel the garlic — one head per person — and slice the cloves thinly. Scatter them over the shrimp along with the sliced chilli. Pour in enough olive oil to just cover everything.

5. Once the potatoes are about halfway cooked, put the garlic-shrimps in the oven too so that everything finishes at the same time.

6. Meanwhile, fry the Padron peppers in a bit of oil (or on the grill) over high heat. They’re best when the skins get a little burnt. If you’re worried about them exploding, prick them with a fork before cooking.

7. After about 15 minutes, everything should be ready. Bring it all to the table together, ideally with some mojo sauce for dipping.