A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero, aunque mi abuela prefiere el pimentón en las patatas.

Because with verbs like gustar, encantar, interesar, and similar verbs, the person who feels the reaction is usually expressed as an indirect object, not as the grammatical subject.

So in:

A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero

mi prima is the person affected, and el pollo con romero is the thing that is pleasing.

A more literal English-style breakdown would be:

• A mi prima = to my cousin
• le encanta = is very pleasing / delights
• el pollo con romero = the chicken with rosemary

So the structure is not really My cousin loves... but more like To my cousin, chicken with rosemary is delightful.

This is very common in Spanish and is called clitic doubling.

In this sentence:

A mi prima le encanta...

• A mi prima names the person clearly
• le repeats that indirect object in pronoun form

In standard Spanish, this is normal and often expected with this kind of structure. You will hear this pattern all the time:

• A Juan le gusta el café
• A mis amigos les encanta viajar
• A mí me interesa la historia

So le is not extra in a strange way; it is part of the normal grammar.

Because the verb agrees with the thing being liked, not with mi prima.

Here, the subject is:

el pollo con romero

That whole idea is singular, so the verb is singular:

• A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero

If the thing liked were plural, then the verb would be plural too:

• A mi prima le encantan las patatas con romero
• A mi prima le encantan los tomates

This is one of the most important things to remember with gustar-type verbs.

They work grammatically in the same way, but encantar is stronger.

• gustar = to like
• encantar = to love / to really love / to be delighted by

So:

• A mi prima le gusta el pollo con romero = My cousin likes chicken with rosemary
• A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero = My cousin loves chicken with rosemary

Both use the same kind of structure:

• person affected = indirect object
• thing liked = subject

Because A mi prima is part of an indirect object phrase, while mi abuela is the subject of the second clause.

First clause:

• A mi prima le encanta...
• a marks the person who receives the feeling

Second clause:

• mi abuela prefiere...
• mi abuela is simply the subject, so there is no a

So the two nouns have different grammatical jobs.

Aunque means although / even though.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero
• mi abuela prefiere el pimentón en las patatas

So the full sentence shows contrast:

My cousin loves chicken with rosemary, although my grandmother prefers paprika on potatoes.

It is a very common connector in Spanish for contrast.

Because here the speaker is talking about a real, known fact.

• aunque mi abuela prefiere... = although my grandmother prefers...

When aunque introduces something accepted as true or factual, Spanish usually uses the indicative.

If the idea were uncertain, hypothetical, or not confirmed, the subjunctive could appear. For example:

• aunque mi abuela prefiera otra cosa...

That would sound more like even if my grandmother prefers something else...

So in your sentence, prefiere is used because the preference is presented as a real fact.

Spanish often uses the definite article with food, materials, and things talked about in a general sense, more often than English does.

So:

• le encanta el pollo con romero
• prefiere el pimentón en las patatas

This does not necessarily mean one specific chicken or one specific paprika container. It can refer to those foods more generally.

Compare:

• Me gusta el café = I like coffee
• No como la carne = I don't eat meat
• Prefiero el arroz = I prefer rice

English often drops the article in these cases, but Spanish often keeps it.

En las patatas here means something like on the potatoes or in the potatoes/as part of the potatoes.

It suggests where the paprika is used or added.

• el pimentón en las patatas = paprika on/in the potatoes

If you said con las patatas, that would more naturally mean with the potatoes, as if the paprika is served together with them rather than used on them as seasoning.

So en works well here to express the ingredient being added to the potato dish.

Because this sentence is in Spanish from Spain, and patatas is the usual word there.

In many parts of Latin America, people often say papas instead.

So:

• Spain: patatas
• many Latin American countries: papas

Both mean potatoes, but patatas is especially associated with Spain, which matches your learning target.

No. They are different things.

• pimentón = paprika
• pimienta = pepper

So:

• pimentón is the red spice made from dried peppers
• pimienta usually means black pepper, white pepper, etc.

This is an important vocabulary distinction, because English learners sometimes confuse them due to the similarity.

Yes, to some extent. Spanish word order is flexible, especially for emphasis, but the original sentence is very natural.

Original:

• A mi prima le encanta el pollo con romero, aunque mi abuela prefiere el pimentón en las patatas.

You could also say:

• El pollo con romero le encanta a mi prima, aunque mi abuela prefiere el pimentón en las patatas.

That version puts more emphasis on el pollo con romero.

However, the original wording is probably the most neutral and common for learners to use.

Mi prima simply means my female cousin.

Spanish distinguishes:

• primo = male cousin
• prima = female cousin

Unlike English, Spanish makes the gender explicit in the noun itself.

So the sentence tells you that the cousin is female.