Patatas bravas: Chef José Andrés shares his recipe for the Spanish potato dish

Morgan Hines, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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Patatas bravas
Patatas bravas
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I love potatoes in every form: Fried, baked — you name it. But nothing beats patatas bravas, a Spanish classic featuring crispy potatoes topped with a mouth-watering sauce.

I've dreamed of the dish since a visit to Spain a few years back. And watching José Andrés and his daughters taste patatas bravas in "José Andrés and Family in Spain," a six-part series that premiered n December on Discovery+, I knew I wanted to learn to make the dish at home.

"Do you see this amazing plate of goodness?" Andrés asks in the third episode, holding up a plate of patatas bravas.

He could say that again.

Andrés shared his recipe for patatas bravas with USA TODAY.

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Patatas bravas

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients for the brava sauce: 

  • 6 large ripe tomatoes (or canned tomatoes, if tomatoes are out of season)

  • 2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 bay leaf

  • ½ teaspoon pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika) or chile de arbol

  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

  • 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

  • Salt to taste

Instructions for the brava sauce:

  1. 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. (If using are whole canned tomatoes, just blend everything and strain to avoid to any seeds.) Strain the grated flesh through a sieve to produce 1.5 cups of tomato puree.

  2. Pour the 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small sauté pan and warm over low heat. Add the tomato puree, 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.

Ingredients for the alioli: 

  • 1 egg

  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled

  • Pinch of salt

  • ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice (from about ¼ lemon)

  • 1 tablespoon filtered water

  • 1½ cups Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions for the alioli:

  • 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. Make sure the paste soaks up the olive oil as you go. Keep adding the oil drop by drop until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. If your alioli gets too dense, add a little water (about ½ teaspoon) to thin it out.

Ingredients 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 teaspoon pimentón (Spanish sweet paprika) or chile de arbol

Instructions for the potatoes: 

  • 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. Be sure to allow the oil to return to 350 degrees before frying the next batch. 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.

Note: Brava sauce and aioli can be kept in refrigerator, tightly covered, for two days. 

Recipe courtesy of José Andrés

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patatas bravas: Chef José Andrés shares his recipe for the potato dish