2008 Year of the Potato – Potato Festival Recipes

I love potatoes. If I had to eat only one food, I think potatoes would be it. They’re soooo versatile – you can fry, boil, roast, broil, bake, stew, mash, smash, and basically do anything to them and potatoes will reward you with a delicious and nutritious treat every time.

Potatoes are so important in the world’s culinary and nutritional environments the United Nations named 2008 the year of the Potato, based on the role the potato can play in providing food security, eradicating poverty and achieving development goals – WOW!!

There’s one more reason why I love potatoes – my grandfather in Cuba was a well-known potato grower. He was known by everyone in his town in the southern part of the Havana province simply as «Neno, el papero» – papero being roughly translated to «potatoer». My grandfather’s potatoes were consumed locally in Cuba, but mainly exported to the US. When my good friend Angie learned about this, she lovingly nicknamed me – the Cuban Potato Queen. To tell you the truth, this has stuck a bit and I even have artwork made by a good friend and artist as homage to this nickname.

I never got to meet my grandfather Neno. He left his physical body a few years before my mom and dad met here in Puerto Rico… So in honor of my grandfather’s potato heritage, I have decided to create in my blog a POTATO FESTIVAL. A collection of potato dishes made to highlight all the goodness and versatility of this discreet tuber. Some are side dishes, some are main dishes… we might even find some appetizers and desserts in this collection… however, I will assure you, they will all be incredibly delicious.

Hope you like them as much as I will like preparing them…

Papas al horno con especias – Herb Roasted Potatoes