Product story

Patatas en ajopollo

Potatoes wrapped in a sauce of almonds, garlic, bread and saffron

Potatoes simmer in a majado of garlic, almonds, bread and saffron that binds the broth and gives it a smooth texture. The dish is documented in Benahadux, Gádor and Rioja.

Potato stew Bajo Andarax · Benahadux, Gádor and Rioja

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The name plays a trick: there is garlic, no chicken, and almonds give the sauce its body.

History and origin

Potatoes wrapped in a sauce of almonds, garlic, bread and saffron

In patatas en ajopollo, flavour begins with a pantry majado. Garlic, almonds and bread are worked with saffron into a paste that is added to the stew. As the potatoes cook, the majado thickens the broth and turns it into a golden sauce, smooth and faintly grainy.

The name has inspired a joke passed from table to table: “papas en ajopollo, sin ajo y sin pollo”—without garlic or chicken. Chicken is indeed absent; garlic is very much part of the majado. The dish is documented in Benahadux, Gádor and Rioja, vega villages close to Alhama, and shows the lasting role of almonds in Bajo Andarax cooking.

When to taste it

Pantry ingredients make this a year-round dish. It is particularly appealing when a warm, silky and slowly cooked stew is called for.

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Where to find it

Benahadux, Gádor and Rioja, along the corridor close to Alhama
Traditional mesones in the Bajo Andarax
Eating houses that cook almond-based pounded sauces

Ways to enjoy it

Day-old bread to make the most of the almond sauce
Dressed vegetables or a simple salad on the side
A fuller white or young red wine