Here follows a small public service announcement: The Daily Spud (that would be me) is a girl.
Ok, a lot of you knew that, but it hasn’t been uncommon for newcomers here to assume otherwise. There’s something about the name Spud that seems to imply solid, male qualities, as opposed to anything giggly girl-ish.
I bring this up only because of the call that went out from Carol at Simply… Gluten Free, seeking entries with a manly theme for this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free. I thought that a dish with spuds was a pretty natural manly choice, even if this here Spud happens not to be built in that manly way.
But what to do with spuds that would accentuate their manliness? The occasion demanded that I cut them into hunks, of course, and clearly I’d have to leave the skins on (because real men eat them skins ‘n’ all, right?). And it would be unbecoming to have my manly hunks of spud going to either mush or mash, so I would roast them up and then serve them with a chunky sauce that was smoky, earthy and chilli hot. Think Mexican chilli meets patatas bravas. These would be fine, manly potatoes and no gluten required.
Manly Spuds: Potato Chunks in a Smoky Chilli Sauce
As specified, with 1 chipotle chilli and some hot paprika, the sauce has a nice smoky bite. If you’re making this for manly types who like extra heat, feel free to increase the quantity of chipotle and/or paprika.
The spuds:
- 4 potatoes, around 800g
- 4 tblsp olive oil
- Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
The manly sauce:
- 1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tblsp tomato puree
- 1 dried chipotle chile
- 0.5 tsp hot smoked paprika
- 1.5 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1.5 tsp cider vinegar
- olive oil for frying
The Spud Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 200C
- Scrub the potatoes and cut into large, roughly even-sized
chunkshunks - Pat the potatoes dry and toss in the olive oil
- Place on a baking tray and roast until tender, around 20-30 minutes, depending on size
- Season with salt & pepper
The Sauce Steps:
- Remove the stem from the chipotle and grind in a coffee or spice grinder. Alternatively, toast the chile for a minute or so in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, soak in just-boiled water for about 15 minutes to soften, then drain and finely chop. Set aside.
- Place a pan over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, add olive oil to coat the pan.
- Finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the pan. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Add the chipotle, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano and cocoa powder to the pan. Stir to mix.
- Add the tomato puree to the pan, stirring briefly.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in a tsp of the cider vinegar and taste. Add a touch more if you like.
- Serve with the spuds and sour cream or yoghurt.
The Variations:
- Next time I think I’ll sprinkle some grated parmesan on the spuds about 5 minutes before they’re done.
The Results:
- Side-dish or tapas-sized portions for about 4
A cool way to put a manly touch to those spuds. I wouldn’t mind having some. I’m liking the sauce a lot.
Oh, my! This might be a “manly” sauce, but it certainly appeals to this girl! It sounds bold, and flavorful, and exciting, and…..delicious.
All that hunkiness and spiciness – I wouldn’t mind a bite myself! After foisting dainty butter cakes on the hubs this week, I think he’d gladly take a plateful of this masculine restorative! With some kind of manly beverage, of course . . .
Lovely, lovely, lovely,…spiced potatoes!
I love all of these flavours! Yum!
Indeed my man would love these!!!
Oooh yes (giggle giggle), all 3 of my men would love these spuds. Luscious luscious!
I love this spicy sauce! Definitely have to make this for my husband!
jenn: thanks, and you could certainly just make the sauce and use as a salsa for nachos if you didn’t want to go the spuds route
Haley: I think girls are allowed to like it too :)
Tangled Noodle: oh with a manly beverage for sure – how does chili beer sound?
Sophie: thanks, I’m partial to spiced potatoes myself, as you may have guessed :)
Jennifer: glad to hear it!
Jamie: and they would love you for making them some, I’m sure…
Natasha: if your husband likes things with a smoky flavour, then he should like this sauce :)
Yay for the cocoa powder! Very manly, indeed. I own almost all of this stuff–maybe it will be part of our Manly Dinner tonight:)
Those are very manly spuds indeed! Thanks for the submission I look forward to do the round up.
[Daily Spud notes that, yes, this comment did have to be rescued from the dreaded spam pile – clearly the spam monkey did not recognise the coddlepot link for the quality it surely is… slaps will be applied]
Manuel is back and has a new home……pop by
http://www.coddlepot.com/
oh crikey…..your spam monkey ate my comment
Manly spuds even a girl like me can love!
those are so manly i can see the testosterone on them!! they look AMAZING!
No way! Seriously? The Daily Spud a male, it never even crossed my mind. I do wish, however, that this dish would cross over my dinner table. Sounds so great! You nailed it with the manly flair although this girlie would love it just the same.
Haha, I love the name of this dish. Very sexy ;)
Jenni: yay for cocoa powder indeed, so happy to have discovered that it’s not just for chocolate drinks :)
Carol: you’re welcome – looking forward to the round up too
Manuel: welcome back & congrats on your new internet home, I’ll be checking in regularly and, meanwhile, trying not to lose all of your comments to the spam filter… oops!
Reeni: glad to hear that they would find a spot in your heart :)
Heather: ooh, now I didn’t actually have that on the ingredients list, lol
Lori: well, I do know that some people thought that I was of the male variety but I can confirm that it is definitely not the case – doesn’t stop me making manly spuds, though :)
gaga: why thanks :)
Manly spuds indeed! Forwarding to my manly son (and printing out for potato-loving me). Intrigued by the cocoa add….
Chili beer?! Ooooh, sounds good but I can see needing a chilly beer to cool down after a chili beer!
Oh goodness, yes please! Manly sauce on my spuds, definitely.
I cannot tell you a day I have not eaten spuds without hot sauce, or something spicy topping them, so this is right up my alley.
Hey, I will be home next week and re-send your goodies!
I’m growing potatoes on our balcony this year, sounds like a nice recipe for when we finally get to harvest some!
Oh these sound really, really good. I’ve been making breakfast burritos with spicy potatoes to go with the two eggs a day I’ve been enforcing on myself for the sake of the tiger cub, but these sound even better.
Katrina: hope you and your manly son enjoy!
Tangled Noodle: I think you may be spot on with identifying the need to follow the chili beer with one that’s chilly instead, lol
kickpleat: but of course, do help yourself :)
Chef E: hey, hope all is well and I’m looking forward to the goodies
Cheese: welcome! Delighted to hear that you’re growing spuds on your balcony – do enjoy your harvest when it comes around.
Other Tiger: I can see this sauce working well in an eggs + breakfast burrito scenario; meanwhile I hope all is well with the developing tiger cub…
I swore I posted before, but I have to say that these potatoes speak to me, chipotle and paprika are two of my favorite spices for spuds. Hubahuba! I’ll be making some for my manly man.
As to you and manly, I can well vouch that you are anything but, although on my brief acquaintance you were not gigglish. Now that you’ve spilled the beans, where’s the mystique of the Spud?
…manly, yes but Spud like it too. So does Sup. But then again I am so very manly. GREG
hmm I love the addition of cocoa Spud – sounds like a great way to mexican up a tomato sauce
OysterCulture: ah, I haven’t given everything away, have I? :) Hope your manly man likes his manly spuds!
Greg: lol, manly doesn’t do you justice – you are just so very greg-ly
lucy: thanks and welcome! There’s never any harm in giving sauce a bit of a Mexican kick :)
I really want to try this with the chipotles in adobo sauce. I think it would be great with the cumin and the vinegar. Great recipe, will definitely keep it in mind the next time I make potatoes.
Hey Allison, thanks for dropping in. You could certainly use chipotles in adobo sauce for this – hope you enjoy!
These look yummy!! My hubby would eat every last bite. It might be great with some meat for a Manly Spud Chili. :) Thanks for sharing!
those look great! i love spicy food and chipotle. they’re kind of like patatas bravas. but more manly =) thanks for the recipe!
Amy: thanks for stopping by – Manly Spud Chili sounds like a great way to go!
rita: you’re welcome – it’s definitely a nice twist on the patatas bravas idea
Those manly potatoes look so good! How do you get them to be so crispy? Whenever I try to make potatoes in the oven, they end up sticking to the pan.
Hi Christine & welcome! One tip for not having spuds stick to the pan in the oven is to make sure that they are dry before you put them on the pan. So, once you’ve washed the spuds and cut them into chunks, pat them with some kitchen paper to remove any excess moisture, then toss with any oil/seasonings and add to the pan. Also, make sure the oven is hot & fully preheated. It’s also recommended (though I don’t always remember to do so myself) to heat the pan before you add the spuds and also to heat the oil before you use it to toss the spuds. For more crispiness, you can also try steaming the chunks for a few minutes first, allow them to cool a little and then toss them in oil and into the pan.