Patatas bravas

Ingredients

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• 800 g potatoes (a frying variety)

• Olive or sunflower oil for frying

• Salt

For the brava sauce

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 chilli or cayenne pepper, deseeded
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 50 ml white wine
• 400 ml ham, cocido or meat stock
• Salt

Preparation

1. 01Sauté the sauce baseHeat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, chopped garlic and chilli until the onion is golden and soft, about 10 minutes.
2. 02Toast flour and paprikaAdd the flour and both paprikas, take the pan off the heat for a moment if needed so the paprika does not burn, and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring.
3. 03Simmer the sauceAdd the white wine, let the alcohol evaporate, pour in the stock and simmer covered over low heat for about 30 minutes. Blend, pass through a fine sieve, adjust the salt and keep warm.
4. 04Cut and poach the potatoesPeel the potatoes and cut them into chunks of about 3 cm. Poach them in oil over low heat (about 120 °C) until tender, 12-15 minutes, and drain.
5. 05Fry the potatoesRaise the oil temperature to 180-190 °C and fry the potatoes until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper and salt them.
6. 06ServeServe the potatoes hot on a dish and pour the brava sauce over them just before taking them to the table, so they stay crisp.

Variations

• Madrid version: a paprika and chilli sauce, without tomato, thickened with flour and stock.
• Catalan (Barcelona) version: potatoes with alioli and a spicy sauce that does contain tomato.
• Some Madrid schools make the sauce with tomato, onion, carrot, herbs and rocoto chilli and serve it hot over the potatoes.