Cooking with the ancestors: An easy to make comfort food, “patatas”

There are times when a hug can help us break a frustration/anxiety vicious circle. Unfortunately, sometimes a hug is not available when we need one. Comfort food takes its place.

Yesterday, I had an extremely frustrating day; one of those where you need a lot of energy to keep calm because you know you either end up crying or shouting, and neither options are very dignified. On top of that, I came back to a cold flat because my new high-tech thermostat (one of those I can control from your phone( needed to be reset at the receiver’s end, and therefore the boiler was not heating. I needed a hug, but there was nobody there to give me a hug.

Comfort food is the closest thing to receiving a hug. Eating something we love makes us feel better. Whenever I think of comfort food, I remember the title of a British song of the fifties “It’s illegal, it’s immoral, or it makes you fat”. The mother of a friend of mine used to sing it all the time. As a man of a certain vintage, I should stop eating for pleasure. It is not good for me, or it makes me fat, which is not good for me. It would not be a surprise to those who know me, my favourite comfort food is ice-cream. I know I am not unique. However, I am very aware that ice-cream is not my ally in my personal battle with the scale.

When I need comfort food, but I am not desperate enough to go and buy ice-cream, I use a recently rediscovered family recipe. It does not have a history. It was never written down. It is something you learned by osmosis.

“Patatas” is a great comfort food. It is basically crushed boiled potatoes and eggs cooked in the oven. I associate it to cold and humid days of my youth in Northern Italy, when the fog envelopes you or when rain and wind makes it difficult to walk. Days when a warm home is your refuge.

I had put the memory of this dish in a metaphorical drawer in my brain until a cousin made it for me and my aunt after my mother’s funeral. The funeral took place on a cold and unseasonably foggy day. Fog in Northern Italy seldom happens in January, it is more common in October and November. Anyway, this cousin had prepared a large tray of “patatas” and kept them warm in the oven. Memories flooded back and now it is my go-to comfort food whenever good quality ice-cream is not around. It is also much easier on the calorie counts than a large tub of ice-cream.

It is a very easy dish, a very ‘forgiving’ recipe that easily lends itself to being made by somebody who is not very precise when cooking (somebody like me).  

• 500g of miniature potatoes.

• Four eggs

• Olive oil

• Aromatic herbs, I use what I have. From oregano, to those herbal mixes like ‘Herbs De Provence’, ‘Mediterranean Seasoning’, etc. Rosemary works, Parsley doesn’t.

Boil the potatoes until you can crush them with a fork. I boil them for at least half an hour, longer if I forget about them. Put the potato in a bowl and start crushing them with a fork until you have a mash. Add four eggs, salt, and a teaspoon of olive oil. Then you mix everything until you have a consistent dough. Since I am not a professional, I use a fork to mix the dough. Put the dough in an oiled tray (I used baking foil, it is easier) and smooth the top. Add a sprinkle of olive oil (the equivalent of one tablespoon) on the surface then you add dry herbs. Put it in a 180 oven and leave it for at least 25 minutes. ‘At least’ because if you leave it longer you get a crispy top, but I try to avoid that. The line between ‘crispy’ and ‘burnt’ is too thin, and this is a dish that is supposed to relax me, so I go for the easy option.

Patatas fresh from the oven

I usually let it cool for five minutes afterwards. It can also be served cold, but eating it warm brings me back to my youth. I almost hear a voice telling me that everything will be all right. It usually turns out to be

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