three bowls

Okay, so as my friend Carolyn noted, this dish doesn’t look especially appetizing. And to be honest, I mainly made it in the first place because of the funny name. But I made it a second time because, as Carolyn also noted after her first comment, it’s delicious!

The recipe calls for mild vinegar. Since the recipe comes from Diana Kennedy’s My Mexico, which is the first place I heard of pineapple vinegar, I decided to make it with that.

I’ve used both homemade and storebought pineapple vinegar. The homemade is pretty simple to make, recipe here. It’s tangy and spicy. The great thing about it is it actually uses the rind of the pineapple. So if you are making something else with a whole pineapple, you can first wring a little extra life out of the rinds before composting or tossing.

My friend Sarah and I went on a big long quest for pineapple vinegar once, to no avail. Then she spotted this brand in a Seattle Safeway. Here’s a Chowhound post about it in case you want to try to track it down where you live.

If you can’t find either, just use any mild vinegar without too strong of a flavor. The storebought kind has 4.3% acidity, equivalent to a mild white rice vinegar.

One thing I would not substitute is any other chile powder for the chile de arbol as its flavor really elevates the dish. I think most stores with a good Hispanic food section will have it with the other little packets of spices and chile powders.

Other than the potato boiling time, this is a fast dish to make. Diana Kennedy’s recipe recommends serving it with toothpicks as hors d’oeuvres, but it’s also delicious as a side dish for a Mexican entrée.

Botana de Papas Locas aka “Crazy Potato Snack”

Adapted from My Mexico by Diana Kennedy 

• 1 lb small new potatoes
• ¼ cup pineapple or other mild fruity vinegar
• 3 Tbls olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp chile de arbol
• 1 lime
• Salt to taste 

1. Put potatoes in large pot, cover with water, add vinegar and large pinch of salt. Bring to boil and cook cover over medium heat for about 20 minutes until just tender, then drain.
2. Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and fry for about 5 minutes until lightly browned.
3. Add onions and chile powder and cook, stirring occasionally to preventing sticking and burning, until the onions have lost their raw smell, about 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, squeeze lime juice over it, salt to taste, and toss.