Patatas Panaderas: rustic and simple potatoes

We were looking for a simple, rustic starch to go with our meal and this looked good -- a bit familiar, replacing the expected butter with the more typical olive oil of Spain. Potatoes, onions, olive oil, garlic, some wine -- that's about it. This isn't an awesome, impress-your-friends dish,  but straight forward comfort food that will go with many dishes; we served it with sous vide and seared pork loin and sauerkraut.

Not going to win any beauty prize, but it's easy comfort food

Most recipes I've seen bake for a long time (hot, expensive), some cook in the microwave (won't get crisp), others on stovetop in copious oil, and most finish with a splash of wine then baked hot and uncovered. Teresa Barrenechea's is very simple, one step, but covered at very high heat to cook and crisp -- 500F for 30 minutes, covered the whole time, no wine. They all start by slicing the potatoes and onions, then adding seasonings and oil. This chef's video shows the technique and this page has ingredients and instructions. This recipe cooks everything covered in a microwave for 10-11 minutes, but there's no way it can get crusty and crunchy. Spain on a Fork has a recipe and video, and I've found his others to come out well. La Tienda has a simple one, like Barrenechea's, but with a final uncovered browning stage.

I don't want to crank the oven for over an hour, so I first cook in the microwave, then brown in a hot oven.

This serves two as a side dish.

  2 medium  Potatoes, peeled, sliced thin

1/2 medium  Onion, peeled, slice thin

    bunch   Parsley, chopped

 to taste   Salt

 to taste   Pepper

 60 ml      Olive Oil (more as needed)

 60 ml      White Wine (amount not critical)

In a microwave-safe bowl, toss the sliced Potatoes and Onions with the Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and Olive Oil to coat well.

Cover tightly with film and poke a small hole for steam.

Microwave on high for 10 minutes until the potatoes are just tender.

Preheat oven to 200C convection (if possible).

Transfer everything to a small baking sheet.

Bake on the top shelf until the wine's boiled off and the potatoes are browned and a bit crunchy.

Serve.