melaniehyersI will never forget mojo picón— a slightly piquant sauce, verging on a bit too much garlic (except I really don’t think that’s possible), and served with mounds of papas arrugadas, a.k.a, wrinkled potatoes, which, for a better understanding, are boiled new-potatoes in sea-salt. I can eat almost anything drenched in it’s deliciousness!
The first time I came into contact with this palate altering condiment was in Gran Canaria, Spain in 1986.
But, allow me to back up a bit.
Before packing it all up and traipsing off across the gran charco to discover life’s new flavors, it was September, 1985 and I was just beginning my senior year at Huntington Beach High
— Little did I suspect that only months later I would be entering a pivotal ending moment, and hence, a period of profound beginnings.
I was a student with excellent grades, and a head of purple hair — it was the latter that caused the Principal to huff and puff, and fume and boil-over while yanking me out of class one morning. He directed me to the chair across from his desk. Then, with one single comment, “Either dye your hair back to a ‘natural’ color or, go to a continuation school” he challenged me.
I didn’t see myself as continuation school material, that was for students not making the grade, for those with attitude problems, those who just weren’t fitting in. So, I started my arguments. “My hair, my color choice.” That didn’t convince him.
I continued, “What about the Goth crowd walking around with their unnatural look?” He still wouldn’t budge.
My last and most earnest plea, “Well, sir, I’m here to learn. As a matter of fact YOU took me out of my physiology class where I was learning how to dissect a pig. I was NOT worrying about the color of someone’s hair, let alone my own, and no one else seemed to care either.”
He looked hard into my eyes and said, “Miss Hyers, high school is NOT an institution of higher education, it’s a place for learning social conformity.”
My eyes bugged out, my jaw dropped, and I felt confronted with the cold reality of what school had really been all these years— un engaño! I felt tricked and somehow deceived. For a moment I thought maybe continuation school was a better place for me. But I quickly concluded that, No, this entire high school thing wasn’t for me.
So, I flung it right back at him, “Well, ok. I’m done with camp-conformity, handover the paperwork, I’m leaving.”
He said he didn’t condone my decision. He said I needed to talk with my parents. He said I was making a terrible mistake as a University bound student. I said, “Papers please.”
That evening, my mom signed the paperwork. Two months later, I was on an Iberian flight bound for Madrid, Barajas. I would be living with a Spanish family and finishing high school in Spain. I guess, in a way, you could say I did chose the alternative school option.
—I was thrilled! I would be broadening my palate, discovering the flavors of life, and starting an adventure of my own—-
One night before leaving, I emerged from the bathroom with a shocking new head of hair—-
My mom, with a slight shake of her head and subtle chuckle under her breath, questioned me, “And now you decide to change your hair back to blond?”
Well, I guess I didn’t need that purple hair anymore, life was about to get exciting and different soon enough!
The 7-island archipelago of the Canaries sits off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean just 60 nautical miles from Western Sahara and Morocco —-its history is intriguing. It’s a place of in-betweens, of cultural mixtures, and influences from a long history of trade and “discovery.” It’s the doorway to Europe from the African Continent and the doorway to the America’s from the European lands. It was the path of least resistance for those brave enough to sail to nuevas Tierras. The alisios, trade winds, carried ships on their journey first as they sailed south from mainland Spain to the Canaries, then westward on to the Caribbean.
The colonization by Spain of the indigenous peoples of the Canary islands, grouped together and known today as Guanches, began in 1402. By the height of the European discovery of the part of the world we now call the America’s, the archipelago was fully colonized and became the launching point to the “New World.” A multitude of people with different cultures, languages, races, beliefs, goals, and food traditions passed through the islands, some even staying to make a new life on the archipelago. There were even pirates! But those are stories for another day.
One of the key players in the colonization of the America’s were the Portuguese, and with them they brought their culture, language and food traditions to the America’s as well as to the Canary Islands. One of these traditions is molho, a slightly spicy sauce that resembles what the Canary Islanders have perfected into, mojo picón.
Papas arrugadas con mojo picón, is a beautiful marriage of several cultures. It is thanks to the Peruvian tuber, potato in English, that this emblematic Canarian dish even exists. In Quechua they call them papas, and this is also the word used throughout Spanish the speaking America’s as well as the Canary Islands. However, make your way to mainland Spain and the papa becomes patata, maybe because it looks like the batata, the sweet potato.
The potato became, and remains one to the fundamental staples on the island, that and gofio, but I’ll talk about gofio another time. And due to the lack of water on many of the islands, a popular way to cook was with sea-water, which is how the potatoes became wrinkled!
So, this unsuspecting marriage between the Quechua peoples of the America’s, the Portuguese, Spanish, and the aboriginals of the islands gave birth to this wonderful side-dish and accompaniment to just about any meal.
There are many types of mojo. During the two years I lived on the islands, I learned to make both a red version and a green version.
Mojo Rojo is used more frequently for dipping ‘wrinkled potatoes’, and for seasoning meats.
Mojo Verde is often used for fish dishes and rice.
However, they are both great on toast! Or to replace mustard on a sandwich, or tossed over pasta, or used as added flavor in anything you want to spice up a level!
Mojo Rojo
Ingredients
Half a head of garlic (more as per your taste)
2 mildly spicy red peppers
1tsp cumin
1 tsp sweet pimiento powder
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 cup Extra Virgen olive oil
Salt to taste, maybe start with about 1/2 tsp
Put all ingredients into a bowl and with an immersion blender, or use a food processor, blend ingredients until mostly smooth. You may want to adjust the flavors for salt or if you want it more garlicky put a couple more cloves of garlic in. If you want it to be more liquid add a bit more oil. Adjust to your taste.
This will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a month.
I have never tried freezing the red mojo, but the green freezes well so go ahead and try it!
Use with sea-salt boiled new potatoes or on heavier meats.
Mojo Verde
Half to a whole head of garlic
Bunch of cilantro
1/4 bunch parsley
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 cup Extra Virgen Olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
Put all ingredients into a bowl and with an immersion blender or use a food processor, blend ingredients until mostly smooth. You may want to adjust the flavors for salt or if you want it more garlicky put a couple more cloves of garlic in. If you want it to be more liquid add a bit more oil. Adjust to your taste.
Serve with fish or over rice.
This will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a month.
I have also frozen it when making big batches and it thaws nicely.
I hope you try this lovely sauce and I hope it adds some new flavors to your life!
Photo Credits
All photos are mine except:
Green and Red mojo with Papas Arrugadas https://www.dreamstime.com/vasantytf_info
Huntington Beach Pier https://www.dreamstime.com/wpd911_info
Iberian Airbus https://api.creativecommons.engineering/v1/thumbs/28117c51-a791-4d9b-92b1-28e42218b977
Canaries off Africa https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2024473
Replica of Spanish Ship https://www.dreamstime.com/pabloc3_info
Mojo ingredients https://www.dreamstime.com/steidi_info
Red mojo with bread https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-spanish-cuisine-mojo-picon-sauce-canary-islands-image56162385
Garlic in a bowl Photo by <a href=”https://stocksnap.io/author/foodiegirl”>Foodie Girl</a> from <a href=“https://stocksnap.io”>StockSnap</a>