Patatas Bravas

This recipe comes from Madrid, but patatas bravas can be found throughout Spain. They serve these fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce at every bar and restaurant, and most vegetarians depend on this dish when there aren't any other veg options.

Serves 2-3

What you need:

for the brava sauce

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 dried cayenne peppers

1 tsp paprika

pinch of saffron

2 cups crushed tomatoes, canned

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp water

1 tsp vinegar

salt

for the allioli

8 cloves garlic

1 cup olive oil

salt

for the potatoes

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

olive oil

salt

Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Peel and chop potatoes and add to boiling water for around 7 minutes. This tenderizes the potatoes before frying them.

In a saucepan on medium heat, fry the garlic and onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil until the onions are translucent. Stir in the crushed cayenne pepper, paprika, and saffron. Add the 2 cups crushed tomatoes and 1 tsp of sugar. Let cook without stirring for five minutes. Mix the 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp water separately, then add it to the sauce. Let cook for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should be a thick. Traditionally, you would now but the sauce in a blender or food processor to make it smooth, but I chose to leave it chunky. Your choice.

In a blender or food processor, add the 8 cloves garlic and 1 tsp salt. Slowly drizzle the oil into the blender until a creamy paste forms. Add more oil if necessary.

After you have boiled the potatoes for 7 minutes, drain them in a colander. Fill a large pan with olive oil (so it rises about 2 inches) on medium heat. Fry the potatoes in the olive oil until golden. Place potatoes on a plate covered with paper towels and add salt to potatoes.

In some parts of Spain, they mix the allioli and brava sauce (recommended) but in other parts they leave them separate. You can put the sauce on top of the potatoes or have it on the side. Enjoy.