One potato, two potato: Sicilian saffron potatoes

Ragazzi, Annalena is still very much in a daze from her trip to Sicily.  It was truly like nothing she could have imagined, in so many ways.  She continues to play with Sicilian recipes, learning them,  making tweaks, and so on.


After her first trip to Italy, Annalena was stunned to see how many potatoes were eaten.  She had associated potatoes with gnocchi, but nothing else.  Something to know, ragazzi, about the way  Italians, and Sicilians eat:  if you go out to a restaurant, you will NOT be offered something that is deemed a home dish.  Hence, you will rarely see chicken offered, especially in Sicily.  Indeed, Annalena was dying for a taste of cucuzza soup while she was in Sicily.  Not to happen.  "We make that at home," is what she was told.  And so it is, even with things like the dish presented here. Again, it has all the hallmarks of basic home cooking:  simple ingredients, albeit one costly one (or at least potentially costly, as we will learn), and very satisfying.    It combines several ingredients, in ways Annalena would not have thought of:  potatoes and saffron, and then saffron and oregano.  But it works.  It works wonderfully, ragazzi.  Try it. You will be amazed at the flavor.

We start with 2 pounds of potatoes.  Use any type you like, but this one may actually work best with big, boiling potatoes, like red bliss, or something along those lines.  You're going to be cooking these potatoes for a while.    Peel them, and then cut them into big chunks.  No dicing like for our hash, carini, no no no.  Now put them aside, while you put two tablespoons of olive oil, in a BIG pot:

Ok, it's a pan, so whatever.  And now add, for two pounds of potatoes , half of a chopped red onion (Sicilians seem to favor red onions).  Put that into the hot olive oil, and saute' for just about two minutes

When that's done, add the potato chunks, and toss them in the oil

And now, the fun begins.  Cover these with ample salted  water, and combine it with a big, BIG pinch of saffron.  Now, saffron is VERY expensive.  But here's the thing:  with this one, you don't need the big fine strands that make it so dear.  There is always "saffron dust" during the processing of the crocuses used to make the stuff, so use the powder if you have it.  Don't break the bank.  Add it to the water, and cover the potatoes with a pot cover.  Lower your heat (this is important)

You need to lower the heat, because to make this dish correctly, you are balancing soft and firm.  The potatoes are, of course, going to cook from the outside in, and you want the outside nice and soft and creamy, while the inside should remain a bit "al dente."  Annalena's recipe said it would take 40 minutes.  It didn't.  It took about twenty.   Test after twenty with a soft knife: point it into a potato chunk:  is it the texture you want?  If it is, we move on.  If not, go to the next step.  

Let's assume they're ready.  So, now you drain them: 

See that beautiful yellow color?  These are not yukon golds, ragazzi. That color came from the saffron.  And it brought flavor with it too.  You also have those sauteed onions in here.  

After you've drained the stuff (and you can save the water if you like and use it again), dust these, with one of the characteristic features of Sicilian cooking:  dried oregano .  (To those of us who love oregano, the fresh and dried are two different herbs, and both useful.  Do not ask  Annalena to pick which one she likes better.  Ok, you win:  she likes the dried).

That's about a tablespoon of dried oregano, and it's not too much.  Just stir things together gently, so that the potatoes do not break apart, and ... you're there.  Have them with fish, or a grilled piece of meat, or just use them as they are. They are really, really good.

You'll be happy to have these in your repertoire, ragazzi.  And now, when someone asks you what they should give you as a gift, ask for saffron.   That's what Annalena does.