Impress Your Guests with These Spanish Patatas Bravas

Patatas bravas are one of the most famous tapas in Spain, readily available on almost every tapas bar menu. Surprisingly, these delicious potato bites are easy to prepare and make for the perfect dish for your next dinner party! To bring a little Spanish flair to your next event, try this recipe for patatas bravas that everyone is sure to love.

What are patatas bravas?

Patatas bravas, translated as “brave potatoes,” are small chunks or slices of potato that are then baked or fried to golden perfection. Once cooked, a generous helping of spicy sauce is layered on top, and sometimes mayo or alioli, too. This tapa is a comfort food that is a hit in Spain and easy to share among a group. One thing that’s interesting about bravas is that while the basic concept stays the same, every tapas bar has their own spin on the recipe to make it unique. This recipe is for a classic version that’s easy to make at home and doesn’t call for many ingredients. Let’s get cooking!

See more: A Recipe for Spanish Omelette That is as Good as Abuela’s

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 1 kg of potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Olive oil
• Sea salt

For the bravas sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of paprika, one tablespoon sweet and one spicy
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 200 mL of water or chicken broth
• salt

For the garlic alioli sauce:

• 1 egg
• juice of half a lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic
• sea salt
• 1 cup of light olive oil or sunflower oil

To cook the potatoes:

Photo by cyclonebill on VisualHunt

Here you have two options, you can fry the potatoes in olive oil, but a lighter option is to bake them in the oven. To do this, preheat the oven to 200ºC and lay the potato cubes out on a baking sheet. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, then toss to make sure that they are evenly coated. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes and then remove the baking tray from the oven. Flip the potatoes over and return them to the oven, baking for another 15 minutes or until they are golden and crispy.

To make the bravas sauce:

Patatas bravas would be nothing without the sauce! First, peel the garlic and finely chop it. Add a bit of olive oil to a skillet or pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the garlic until it starts to turn golden in color. Stir in the tablespoon of flour, followed by the paprika. Be sure to stir the paprika quickly so that it doesn’t burn and it dissolves into the oil. Lower the heat and stir in the broth or water, stirring consistently so that the sauce starts to thicken. Keep stirring until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

To make the alioli sauce:

This sauce is quite easy and comes together quickly. Take a few cloves of garlic, peel them, and chop them finely. Crack an egg into a tall jar or container, and add in the garlic, a pinch of salt, and lemon juice. Let the ingredients sit for a minute or two, and then pour the olive oil over. You’ll need a handheld immersion blender for this part. Push the blender to the bottom of the container and blend for 25 seconds, without moving the blender out of place. Slowly bring the blender to the top of the mixture and you’ll notice that it will start to turn thick and creamy. Blend until all the ingredients are well mixed, then chill in the refrigerator.

Bring it all together!

Arrange your patatas bravas in the serving dish of your choice, and cover them with the bravas sauce and alioli. As an optional garnish, you can sprinkle more sea salt or freshly-chopped parsley on top. ¡Que aproveche!