Fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and garlic mayonnaise, a staple in Spanish cuisine.
Jaleo’s Patatas Bravas
Chef Ramón Martínez has been working alongside José Andrés for 15 years, bringing the authentic taste of Spanish tapas to the U.S. One of the most popular dishes at their restaurant, Jaleo, is Patatas Bravas - fried potatoes served with a spicy tomato sauce and garlic mayonnaise. This dish is a beautiful combination of textures and flavors, and is a top seller at Jaleo.
Ingredients
For the brava sauce:
- 6 large ripe tomatoes (or canned tomatoes, if tomatoes are out of season)
- 2 tbsp Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika) or chile de arbol
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp sherry vinegar
- Salt to taste
For the alioli:
- 1 egg
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tsp fresh lemon juice (from about ¼ lemon)
- 1 tbsp filtered water
- 1½ cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
For the potatoes:
- 3 cups of blended oil (or low-acidity olive oil)
- 1 pound Idaho potatoes, (about 3 large potatoes) peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika) or chile de arbol
Directions
- To make the brava sauce, slice the tomatoes in half. Place a grater over a bowl and rub the open side of the tomato over the grater until all the flesh is grated. Discard the skins. Strain the grated flesh through a sieve to produce 1.5 cups of tomato puree.
- Pour the 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small sauté pan and warm over low heat. Add the tomato purée, sugar, bay leaf, pimentón, and cayenne. Raise the heat to medium and cook until the mixture reduces by ¼ and becomes a deep red color. Add the vinegar and reduce for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and set aside.
- To make the alioli, place the egg, lemon juice, water and salt in a blender, and blend everything until really smooth, adding the olive oil in a slow, steady stream to emulsify. If your alioli gets too dense, add a little water (about ½ teaspoon) to thin it out.
- For the potatoes, pour the olive oil into a deep saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat to 250 degrees. Gently place the potatoes in the oil and poach them, frying slowly until soft, about 15 minutes. The potatoes should not change color but will soften all the way through. Test for softness using a toothpick. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. Allow the oil to return to 250 degrees before frying the next batch.
- Raise the temperature of the olive oil to 350 degrees. Working again in batches, return the potatoes to the pan and fry until crispy and brown, about 2 minutes. Set the potatoes aside to drain and season to taste with salt.
- To serve, place 2 tablespoons of brava sauce on the bottom of the plate. Place the fried potatoes on top and several dabs of alioli all around the bravas. Sprinkle some pimentón on top.
- Brava sauce and aioli can be kept in refrigerator, tightly covered, for two days.