From My Mexico
A Culinary Odyssey With More Than 300 Recipes
by Diana Kennedy

Although small red-skinned potatoes were served that day at the ranch, the word loca refers to the very small, light-skinned potatoes that grow wild in the hills in the northern part of the Bajío: Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and part of Guanajuato.

1 pound (450 gms) very small new potatoes, unpeeled
salt to taste
1/4 cup (63 ml) vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons powdered chile de árbol or pulla
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Put the potatoes into a heavy pan, cover with water, add salt and vinegar and cook covered over a medium flame until just tender-about 20 minutes. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the potatoes and fry until slightly browned-about 5 minutes. Add the onions and chile powder and continue frying, stirring them from time to time, taking care that the onions do not burn-about 5 minutes. Add the lime juice and serve still warm with toothpicks.

Excerpted from My Mexico by Diana Kennedy Copyright© 1998 by Diana Kennedy. Excerpted by permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.