PATATAS BRAVAS
“There are two main versions of patatas bravas, the common Spanish tapas dish that features crispy fried potatoes: one that’s drizzled with aioli and another that’s topped with sweet, smoky tomato sauce,” April Bloomfield writes in A Girl and Her Greens. “I prefer the second. To me, the first is just chips and mayonnaise, not that there’s anything wrong with chips with mayonnaise, especially when the potatoes are tossed in the sauce and eaten straightaway, before they lose their crunch. They make an impressive side dish all by themselves, though fried eggs on top turn them into a proper meal for four.”
Start to finish: 2 hours (1 hour active)
Servings: 6
For the sauce:
1.5 lb (680 g) red bell peppers (about 3 medium), halved lengthwise, cored and seeded
¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil, plus a good drizzle for finishing
1 large Spanish onion (about 1 ¼ lb/568 g), halved and cut into ¼-in. (6-mm)-thick slices
Scant ¼ lb (114 g) moderately spicy fresh red chilies (such as Dutch or Fresno), halved lengthwise, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp (10 mL) Maldon or other flaky sea salt
1 tsp (5 mL) sweet smoked Spanish paprika
3 lb (1.4 kg) tomatoes, peeled
Small handful marjoram leaves, roughly chopped at the last minute
For the potatoes:
3 lb (1.4 kg) Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled, cut into irregular 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces, and rinsed well
Kosher salt
Rendered duck fat, pork fat or peanut oil, for deep-frying
Maldon or another flaky sea salt
1. To make the sauce, peel the skin from the bell peppers using a vegetable peeler and a gentle sawing motion. Cut the peppers into 1-in. (2.5-cm) pieces. In a wide, heavy medium pot over high heat, heat the 1/4 cup (60 mL) of olive oil until it smokes lightly. Add the onion, chilies, garlic and salt. Have a stir and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions wilt a bit, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the bell peppers and paprika, but don’t stir until the onions begin to brown, about 3 minutes more. Now stir and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom often, until the onions and peppers are tender, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and keep stirring and scraping until everything is very soft and sweet, about 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, core and quarter the tomatoes, then put them in a large bowl and gently squeeze to release the juice and seeds. Transfer the tomatoes to a second large bowl, leaving the liquid and seeds behind, shaking the tomatoes over the first bowl so any liquid caught in the crevices spills out. Set a strainer over the second bowl with the tomatoes (the strainer should sit over the tomatoes) and pour the liquid through the strainer, smooshing to make sure you extract as much liquid as you can, and then discarding the solids in the strainer.
4. Add the tomatoes to the pot, stir, then cook at a steady simmer, stirring now and then, until most of the visible liquid has evaporated, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in the marjoram. Keep cooking, stirring and scraping the pot often, until the sauce starts to stick to the bottom of the pot and the mixture is very thick, a bit like jam, about 10 minutes more. Take the pot off the heat and set aside.
5. To fry the potatoes, put the potatoes in a medium pot, pour in enough water to cover and add enough kosher salt to make the water taste good and salty. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes well in a colander, then gently shake and toss them just until the potatoes get a bit fluffy looking on the outsides. The rough sides will get especially crispy when the potatoes are fried. Let them sit uncovered until they’ve cooled to room temperature.
6. Meanwhile, pour at least 3 in. (7.6 cm) of fat or oil in an electric deep-fryer (or into a Dutch oven with a deep-fry thermometer clipped to the side) and heat to 300 F (150 C). Working in batches to avoid crowding, fry the potatoes until they develop a creamy texture (they shouldn’t be browned at all), about 5 minutes. As they cook, shake the fry basket or gently stir occasionally to prevent them from sticking together. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a bowl and give them a gentle toss so they have another chance to go fluffy.
7. Bring the fat or oil temperature to 350 F (175 C). Line a bowl or tray with paper towels. Fry the potatoes again in batches, stirring occasionally, until they’re very crispy and deep golden brown on the outside, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer them to the towels to drain and immediately add a light sprinkle of salt.
8. Just before the potatoes are done, bring the pepper-tomato sauce simmer.
9. The key to the next step is doing it seconds before you serve the dish, so the potatoes stay a bit crispy. Add the fried potatoes to the sauce, stir briefly but well, then transfer the sauced potatoes to a plate. Add a good drizzle of olive oil and more salt if you fancy. Serve immediately.