Patatas Bravas

Patatas Bravas, Step by Step

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1. Put the potato cubes in cold water with the vinegar and salt, bring to a boil, and simmer for 8 minutes until just tender at the edges but still firm at the centre.

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2. Drain and leave them in the colander to steam-dry while you make the sauce, at least 15 minutes. Shake the colander to rough up the edges — those rough surfaces become the crispiest parts.

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3. For the sauce, soften the onion in the olive oil for 8 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute.

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4. Stir in the flour and both paprikas and the cayenne and cook 60 seconds — take care not to burn the paprika, which turns bitter instantly.

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5. Add the blended tomatoes, stock, sugar and salt and simmer for 20 minutes until thick.

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6. Blend smooth, then stir in the sherry vinegar. It should be sharp, smoky and genuinely spicy.

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7. Heat the frying oil to 190°C / 375°F and fry the potatoes in two batches for 5 to 6 minutes until deep golden and crisp.

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8. Drain on a rack and salt immediately.

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9. Pile onto a plate, spoon the warm brava sauce over the top, and serve at once with cocktail sticks.

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Notes for Getting It Right

• Steam-dry the parboiled potatoes properly. Wet potatoes will never crisp, however hot the oil.
• The sauce should have real heat — "bravas" means fierce and a timid version misses the point.
• Add a drizzle of alioli alongside, which is common in Barcelona, but keep it separate from the brava.

Changing the Recipe

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

What to Serve with Patatas Bravas

• A cold caña of lager or a glass of vermut
• Serve with other tapas: gambas, tortilla, olives
• Follow with crema catalana

Keeping and Reheating

The sauce keeps 5 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months. Fry the potatoes to order — they do not reheat well.

Patatas Bravas Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.

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