Patatas Bravas

This is adapted from yet another Moro recipe. Patatas bravas are probably my favourite of all Spanish dishes (insert obvious Irish potato joke here). On a visit to Barcelona a few years ago, with some vegetarians, the patatas bravas rule to eating out was developed, which worked along the lines that we could only go to restaurants which served them. This was in part due to one of the vegetarians then reluctance to actually consume things not made of tofu, and the fact that Spanish people do not understand or accept vegetarianism. When asking if a dish contains meat, they tend to consider whether or not there is a large slab of meat involved. Thus, a steak will be met with a yes, while, lentejas, a lentil stew flavoured with pieces of chorizo will be deemed vegetarian, because it only has small pieces of meat.

Traditionally, patatas bravas are fried, but in this recipe I roast them. This is because a) its easier to make large quantities of roast potatoes, b) it’s a little healthier and c) you get the exact same crispy coating if you parboil them before roasting as you do when frying. For the aioli, make a homemade mayonnaise with 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic stirred in, or add to some good quality bough mayonnaise.This is a great tapas dish, but I could literally eat these at a meal, and know plenty of others who have. If you have tomato sauce left over, it can make a nice pizza topping, or pasta sauce with some parmesan.

Serves 4 as a racion or 6 as a tapa

Ingredients

• 1kg of roasting potatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 2 Spanish onions
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small glass of white wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 400g tub of passata
• 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 fresh chilli or a teaspoon of cayenne
• Olive oil
• 1 quantity aioli

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
• Peel the potatoes and parboil in salted water for five minutes.
• Remove, allow to cool and chop into medium sized chunks.
• Place the potatoes in a roasting dish, and toss in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika.
• Season, and roast for approximately 40 minutes to 1 hour, until they are golden and crispy.
• Finely chop the peppers and onions and sauté in a little olive oil over a medium heat for approximately 5-8 minutes, until soft and the onions are golden.
• Add the wine and sugar, and cook down until the wine has reduced to a syrup and the onions and peppers are gently caramelised.
• Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic cloves and chilli and sauté in a separate pot.
• Add the passata, paprika and a pinch of sugar and bubble gently for 10 minutes until thickened.
• Add the onion and pepper mixture and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until you have a nice thick coating consistency.
• When the potatoes are cooked, reheat the sauce if necessary, and pour over them.
• Top with aioli and serve.

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