{"id":62386,"date":"2015-10-05T02:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-04T18:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=62386"},"modified":"2015-10-03T22:06:56","modified_gmt":"2015-10-03T14:06:56","slug":"mojo-sauce-with-roasted-paprika-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2015\/10\/05\/mojo-sauce-with-roasted-paprika-potatoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mojo Sauce with Roasted Paprika Potatoes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most of the foods we eat — even among those of us for whom eating is a career — pass our lips and leave not even a fleeting memory. Most foods.<\/p>\n

But then there are those that linger not just on our tongues, but in our minds. Perhaps by association of a time or place or person, or simply by the power of their own deliciousness. Somehow these foods take on another life for us.<\/p>\n

Over the years, a handful of such foods have entered my life. My great grandmother’s rustic pork pate. My mother’s spanakopita. The sunflower seed risotto I ate at a small restaurant in Copenhagen last spring. The sinfully rich liverwurst spread thickly on sourdough that was my afterschool snack (paired with chocolate milk!) when I lived in Germany as a child.<\/p>\n

And there is mojo sauce. The first time I tasted it was during Hurricane Katrina, which had forced an extended stay in Key West. We ate dinner at a dive where the meal itself was forgettable. But plopped onto the table was a basket of fried plantain chips and a bowl of mojo sauce for dipping. It was orange and slightly chunky and flecked with green.<\/p>\n

I had no idea what it was, but as soon as I tried it I couldn’t stop eating it. It was sweet and sour and tangy and refreshing with just a tiny hint of heat. It was similar to a salsa, but so much more refreshing. The waitress explained that it was a Cuban-style mojo, for there actually are numerous mojo sauces from different parts of the world.<\/p>\n

Cuban mojo generally consists of minced garlic, onion and parsley that are mixed with sour orange juice, lime juice, olive oil and a hit of cumin. Traditionally, it is used to marinate pork or for dipping chips, such as plantains.<\/p>\n

I wrote down the list of ingredients, but never made it. Until now. I found the card on which I’d scribbled the recipe\u00a0and remembered that flavour. While plantain chips don’t necessarily excite me, this sauce did. So I decided to recreate it, but this time pair it with something big and bold — roasted potato wedges dusted with paprika. It’s a perfect combination.<\/p>\n

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MOJO SAUCE WITH PAPRIKA POTATOES<\/strong>
\nSour orange juice is available online and at many ethnic markets. If you can’t find it, substitute regular orange juice, but add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and reduce the orange juice by 2 tablespoons. The\u00a0recipe\u00a0makes extra mojo sauce, and you’ll be happy for it. Refrigerate the extra, then drizzle over grilled or roasted meat (especially pork) or vegetables.<\/p>\n

Start to finish: 45 minutes
\nServings: 8<\/p>\n

6 medium russet potatoes
\nExtra-virgin olive oil
\nKosher salt
\n2 teaspoons smoked paprika
\nGround black pepper
\n1\/2 cup sour orange juice
\n1\/4 cup lime juice
\n2 tablespoons lemon juice
\n1\/2 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
\n1\/4 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
\n2 cloves garlic
\n1 teaspoon sugar
\n1\/2 teaspoon ground cumin<\/p>\n

Heat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil.<\/p>\n

Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise into about 5 wedges. Mound the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, then drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Toss to coat evenly.<\/p>\n

In a small bowl, mix together about 2 teaspoons salt, the paprika and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Sprinkle this evenly over the potato wedges, toss to coat evenly, then spread the potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake the potato wedges for 40 minutes, turning the wedges halfway through.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, prepare the mojo sauce. In a blender, combine 1\/2 cup of olive oil, sour orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, onion, parsley, garlic, sugar and cumin. Pulse on and off for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the onion and parsley are very finely chopped, but not pureed. Taste, then season with salt and pepper, pulsing again to mix.<\/p>\n

Serve the potato wedges with the mojo sauce on the side.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most of the foods we eat — even among those of us for whom eating is a career — pass …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":62461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-food","mauthors-j-m-hirsch","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}