Whether you’re in Madrid or Paris, you’ll have to look really hard to find a tapas bar that doesn’t serve some version of these potatoes. They’re beautifully fried simply with herbs and a pinch of salt, but even more exciting served in a spicy tomato ‘bravas’ sauce. ‘Patatas bravas’ actually means ‘fierce potatoes’…How could anyone resist something with such a brilliant name?
The creamy, unashamedly garlicky allioli-style sauce completes the dish perfectly.
INGREDIENTS Serves 4-6
500g waxy potatoes
300ml olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 egg
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chives, to serve
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel the potatoes and cut into rough 2cm chunks. Put a roasting tray with 2 tablespoons olive oil into the oven and leave to heat for 5 minutes, then take out, toss the potatoes in the hot oil, and bake for about 45 minutes until crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, make the sauces. Put 2 tablaspoons oil into a heavy-bottomed pan on a medium heat, and cook the onion for about seven minutes until golden and soft. Put in the chilli, and cook for another couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and smoked paprika and stir well. Bring to the boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until thick and dark. Take off the heat, add 1 tablaspoons sherry vinegar, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
To make the allioli, put the egg in the small bowl of a food processor along with the garlic and 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and whizz until incorporated, then drizzle in the rest of the olive oil with the motor running, until you have creamy mayonnaise-style sauce. Season to taste.
Take the potatoes out of the oven and sprinkle with a little salt. Spread the tomato sauce on to the plates, put the potatoes on top, then add a dollop of aioli? and a sprinkle of chives, and serve immediately.
Original Recipe Felicity Cloake writing in the Guardian
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