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The Kitchn’s Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn describes adding peeled, chopped potato to a Somali pasta with meat sauce from the cookbook Soomaliya. In her account, the potato cooks in the liquid tomato sauce for about 35 minutes, becoming tender and absorbing its flavor; the technique is a cooking recommendation, not a comparative test showing it makes the best pasta.
The Kitchn food editor Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn reported that adding peeled, chopped potato to a liquid tomato-based meat sauce gave her pasta a tender, flavor-absorbing addition. Her account, published two days before the supplied source material, describes a technique from Soomaliya, a cookbook focused on Somali cuisine; it is a personal cooking report, not evidence from a comparison of recipes.
Wawrzyn describes a sauce that begins with puréed fresh tomatoes, water, tomato paste, herbs and spices. The potato is added near the beginning of cooking, while the sauce is still relatively thin. It simmers in the sauce for nearly the full cook time, which the article gives as about 35 minutes.
In the editor’s account, that cooking time leaves the potato chunks very tender, almost falling apart. They take on the concentrated taste of the sauce, which Wawrzyn compares to how potato absorbs the flavors in a pot of soup. She says the addition worked better than she expected, despite her initial concern that potato and pasta would make the dish too heavy or starchy.
The article says cooks can adapt the approach to a familiar meat sauce recipe by adding a peeled, chopped potato. Wawrzyn advises keeping enough liquid in the pot for the potato to cook, since the sauce can reduce and thicken during the simmer. For cooks who would rather not add water, she suggests broth or wine as alternatives; the source does not provide tested amounts for those substitutions.
A Different Role for Potato
The technique gives potato a specific job in the dish: it cooks in the sauce and absorbs its flavor, instead of serving only as a separate side. For readers interested in changing a familiar pasta dinner, the report offers a low-complexity idea that can be tried in an existing meat sauce recipe. The source’s central observation is about texture and flavor absorption, rather than a measured improvement in taste or nutrition.
The approach also carries a practical adjustment. A potato needs time and enough moisture to soften, so the sauce starts thinner than some cooks may expect. According to Wawrzyn, the roughly 35-minute cook allows the sauce to reduce and thicken. The article does not specify potato varieties, chunk dimensions, meat type, or exact liquid quantities, so those details may affect results in a home kitchen.
The Recipe Behind the Tip
The report draws on Soomaliya, a cookbook about Somali cuisine. Wawrzyn writes that the book pairs recipes for dishes unfamiliar to her with recognizable preparations that use unexpected methods or ingredients. Its pasta with meat sauce provided the example behind her potato suggestion.
The supplied article does not give a full recipe, identify the dish’s Somali name, or explain the recipe’s origins. It focuses on the editor’s experience with the potato technique and offers adaptation tips. That distinction matters: the report documents one food editor’s response to a cookbook recipe, rather than establishing that potato is a standard ingredient in all Somali meat sauces or pasta dishes.
“The potato chunks thus become little sponges, soaking up all the concentrated goodness the sauce has to offer, and delivering it to you in one tender bite.”
— Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn, The Kitchn food editor
Details the Report Leaves Open
The source does not identify the exact potato variety, the size of the chunks, or the precise amount of water used. It also does not give a complete ingredient list or recipe quantities for the meat sauce. Those omissions mean readers adapting the idea will need to rely on their own recipe and check the potato’s tenderness as it cooks.
The reported 35-minute simmer describes the recipe Wawrzyn tried, not a guaranteed cooking time for every sauce. The source provides no side-by-side test against meat sauce made without potato, no reader results, and no nutritional comparison. Whether a cook prefers the texture will depend on personal taste and how the potato is cut and cooked.
How Cooks Can Try It
The next step described by the article is a home-kitchen adaptation: add a peeled, chopped potato near the start of a meat sauce that has enough liquid for the pieces to cook through. Let it simmer with the sauce, checking tenderness and consistency during cooking. Wawrzyn says the sauce thickened after about 35 minutes in the recipe she tried.
Cooks who want more flavor in the cooking liquid can use broth or wine in place of some or all of the added water, as the article suggests. It gives no proportions for that substitution, so the amount should be adjusted to the sauce recipe being used. The source material does not report additional testing, a response from the cookbook’s author, or a formal follow-up.
Key Questions
What is the potato supposed to do in meat sauce?
In Wawrzyn’s account, potato cooks in the liquid tomato sauce, becoming tender and saturated with its flavor. It contributes texture as well as starch.
When should the potato go into the sauce?
The article says it goes in toward the beginning of cooking, so it can simmer in the sauce for most of the cook time.
How long did the recipe take to cook?
Wawrzyn reports that the sauce reduced and thickened over a roughly 35-minute cook. The source does not say that every recipe or potato size will take the same time.
Can water be replaced with another liquid?
Yes. Wawrzyn suggests broth or wine for cooks who prefer not to use water. The article does not specify quantities for either option.
Does the report prove potato makes the best meat sauce?
No. It is a food editor’s account of one cookbook recipe, not a comparative test. Wawrzyn recommends the technique based on her experience, but the source presents no controlled comparison or broader survey of cooks.
Source: rss
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