It doesn´t take much beating

Batatas à muro - Punched potatoes
I think this dish embodies many things that are uniquely Mediterranean... it marries garlic and olive oil with a baked potato, replacing maybe Northern Europe´s sour cream and chives.

Instead of gently cutting open the potato, these ones are literally beat up ('à muro') in the true hot blooded fashion that is being Mediterranean.

• medium-sized potatoes (4 per person)
• coarse Salmarim sea salt
• olive oil and butter
• 3 cloves of garlic

1. Wash the potatoes and place them in a baking dish on top of a bed of coarse sea salt
2. Bake 450 F /230C until soft,or until the potatoes begin to very lightly brown (around 30 minutes) - the salt speeds up the cooking
3. Remove the excess salt and punch the potatoes with a wooden spoon so that the skin breaks (This is the beating up part!).
4. Heat up the butter and olive oil in a shallow frying pan.Sauté the garlic gently  till soft I mixed in some roasted garlic purée to give an additional contrast.
5. Mix in the punched potatoes season with salt and pepper and serve.

"It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right  

Just beat it,beat it,beat it,beat it"