patatas bravas

Patatas bravas are so typical spanish. It is normally served in a small portion, on a small plate, a tapa, kind of an amuse to have with a drink. It's basically potato and a tomato sauce, nothing else.. There are however a few musts when making patatas bravas; the potatoes cannot be parboiled, you need to fry them from raw. The sauce needs to have a nice peppery kick from chili or similar and it has to have a nice acidity. It is quite easy to make once you know all this. This is my version, one of many others;

Best to use 2 pans;

- 1st pan; fry potato cubes in olive oil until they are completely done, this can easily take up to 40-45 minutes or longer depending on the size of the cubes. You don't need to peel them but of course you can if you like. It's a good idea to rinse the cubes and to dry them first. Start on a medium-low heat and turn the cubes regularly. When they start to get softer, get the fire somewhat higher and fry until nicely crunchy and golden brown. Sprinkle with salt at the end.

- 2nd pan; make a tomato sauce. Again, it has to be peppery spicy and needs a little acidity. Start with sweating a chopped onion and/or shallot and garlic to taste. Add a good sprinkle of dried chili flakes (or cayenne pepper...). Add chopped tomatoes. If you like, add just the smallest ever pinch of pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika powder); remember this easily overpowers the whole dish. You can add a little white wine, this will already give some acidity. Cook the sauce until done, s&p, parcely if you like and do add a few drops of vinegar at a time until the desired acidity. Serve the potatoes with the sauce on top or mixed in the sauce at the very last moment before serving.

Here I made patatas bravas as a part of a complete meal, served with a veal escalope breaded in panko.