Patatas Bravas (Spicy Potatoes)

I love Spanish tapas, and one of my favourite tapas dishes is Patatas Bravas (wild potatoes), or spicy potatoes. It is apparently one of the most popular tapas dishes in Spain. The last time we had tapas was about two years ago, at El Bulli (the Sydney one, not the real one in Spain) where we ordered these tasty little potatoes. You can easily make some at home.

There are many ways you can prepare this dish. Here, I've brushed the potatoes with olive oil and baked them in the oven until they turn crispy and golden outside. These are tossed in a spicy, tangy and tomatoey sauce with a little mayonnaise added to cut through some of that acidity. This version of patatas bravas is not too saucy and not too dry (the ones pictured here did not have mayonnaise in it as I forgot to put it in until later!). Cut the potatoes anyway you like, cubed or sliced. I did a bit of both, for fun! The potatoes will shrink after baking, so make sure you don't slice them to thin or too small. Please find the recipe after the jump.

Patatas Bravas

Ingredients

1 kg (2 lbs) baby potatoes, washed and unpeeled
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Sauce:
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree (not tomato paste!)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli powder
Splash of tabasco sauce (optional)
1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise

Method

Preheat oven to 230C (446F). Slice the potatoes thickly, about 1/2 inch. Alternatively, cut them into 1 inch cubes. Arrange on a baking tray in a single layer, and brush some olive oil over them. Sprinkle with salt. Bake in oven for 25 minutes until golden and crisp, then turn the potatoes over and bake for another 15 minutes or until browned and crisp.

In the meantime, heat up 4 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and fry the garlic. Then mix in the tomato puree, vinegar, paprika and cayenne/chilli powder. Add salt, black pepper and tabasco to taste. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Stir in the mayonnaise. Dish out and serve hot.