Angry Potatoes! (Patatas Bravas)

I am a lover of all things carbohydrate – bread, pasta, rice, potatoes – they all have a special place in my heart (and my stomach). I shudder at the outrageous thought of a low-carb life. The Atkins diet makes me cringe. I would rather run an extra mile a day than go without my daily starch quota. And I especially love potatoes for their unrefined, carby awesomeness. I like them fried, roasted, mashed, boiled and especially totted (as in tater tots).

So it’s no wonder that one of my favorite tapas dishes is Patatas Bravas, which roughly translates to Angry Potatoes. What makes these potatoes so damn angry? Roasted grape tomatoes, olive oil, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper all blended together into a fiery sauce. If there’s one thing I love more than carbs, it’s all manner of spice. You could say that this dish had me at hello, but that would be a mighty cheesy way to end a blog post.

Blog note: I finally got rid of that silly “/mel/” in my URL. From here on out, you can find all posts and recipes at www.bitchincamero.com. Not to worry – all old and bookmarked links will still work. Many thanks to my friend Chris for his technical expertise.

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Chickpea, Sausage & Kale Pasta

Last week I was driving home from work and thinking about what to make for dinner. We hadn’t been to the grocery store in over a week, so there wasn’t much to work with – 3 kinds of mustard, 2 kinds of jam, 5 types of hot sauce, pickles, sauerkraut, eggs. I was thinking we might just have to have fried eggs with sauerkraut and condiments, when I called my mom and mentioned my sad situation. I wasn’t fishing for a dinner offer. Truly, I wasn’t!

But then she told me she had a big pot of leftover pasta with chickpeas, sausage and kale and did I want to swing by and pick some up? Chickpeas, sausage and kale? On pasta? Sounds like a most perfect dinner (especially the night before a 5 mile run). And it was! The chickpeas were nicely toasted in olive oil, giving the dish a slightly nutty flavor. Sausage, kale, tomatoes and garlic round it out perfectly.

I loved it so very much that I made it again yesterday. It’s everything I could ever want in a weeknight dinner or lunch.

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Easy Artichoke Chicken

This is another one of those quick and easy recipes that requires just 5 ingredients, tastes delicious and is just the thing for a quick lunch or a weeknight dinner. Just sear some chicken in olive oil, add onions, fire-roasted tomatoes and artichoke hearts and simmer for half an hour. Top with some capers and you’ve got a nice, saucy chicken to top polenta, rice, baked potatoes, or pretty much anything.

This is definitely going into the “lazy recipe file” to access whenever I don’t want to prep or stir anything.

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Sweet Potatoes w/Sausage, Cheese, Cilantro & Lime

Whew! It’s been such a hectic few days, I’m so relieved that I decided to keep the menu simple this week! Today’s recipe is another tasty 5-ingredient meal. Some might call this an easy recipe, others may call it lazy, but either way, its flavors are bold and delicious. You’d never guess it was so easy to make.

The secret here is the perfect baked potato. This method works better with russet potatoes, but still makes a tasty baked sweet one. Basically, the potato needs to go directly on the rack in a hot oven. If you cover it in foil, the potato steams, not bakes. While still tasty, you don’t get that crisp, baked skin that’s so very delicious.

Once you’ve got the perfect baked potato, the filling is easy. To cut some of the sweetness from the potato, I added some smoked sausage (kielbasa would be great here), salty cotija cheese (like feta), cilantro and a big squeeze of lime. An easy meal for a lazy weeknight.

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