Patatas bravas

Patatas bravas are a classic Spanish dish, very common as a tapa in bars. The traditional version consists of fried potatoes and a spicy sauce. Here’s a recipe for making patatas bravas with an Italian twist.

Ingredients

• 500 g of potatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil for frying
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 chili pepper (or as much as you can tolerate in terms of spiciness)
• 400 g of peeled tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
• A pinch of smoked paprika (if you like)
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into uniformly sized cubes to make sure they cook evenly.
2. Fry the potatoes in plenty of oil until they are golden and crispy. Then, drain them and set them aside on paper towels to remove the excess oil.
3. For the sauce, start by finely chopping the garlic and chili pepper. Sauté the garlic and chili in a little oil in a pan, but be careful not to burn them. This step is key to giving the sauce the right flavor.
4. Add the peeled tomatoes to the pan and crush them with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika, both sweet and smoked if you decide to use it.
5. Cook the sauce on medium-low heat until it thickens, for about 20 minutes. If you prefer a smooth sauce, you can blend everything with an immersion blender.
6. Serve the hot potatoes with the spicy sauce poured over the top or on the side, according to taste.

In this case, I have used extra virgin olive oil for a more Italian note compared to the seed oil commonly used in Spain, and I have suggested the addition of smoked paprika for a more intense and slightly “rustic” flavor reminiscent of Mediterranean cuisine.

Curiosity

“Patatas bravas” get their name from the “brava” sauce, which in Spanish means “brave”, referring to its spiciness. The recipe can vary greatly from one region of Spain to another, sometimes even with the addition of ingredients such as Cayenne pepper or vinegar.