Traditional Patatas Bravas (Spanish Fried Potatoes)

No need to fly to Barcelona when you’re craving these flavor-packed Spanish fried potatoes with spicy sauce — you can easily prepare this traditional patatas bravas recipe in the comfort of your own home.  Yum!

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What is patatas bravas?

It’s one of the most popular dishes in Spain, especially Barcelona — delicious, fried potatoes served with spicy sauce.

‘Patatas’ means potatoes in Spanish, and ‘bravas’ refers to the spiciness of the sauce (i.e., if you’re brave enough to take it 🙂 )

Personally, though, I think the spiciness of this bravas sauce recipe is spot on — perfectly balanced for my taste.

But don’t you worry, you can now control that spice when you make it at home.

Same mouthwatering deliciousness in every bite!

IF YOU LIKE MORE CLASSIC SPANISH RECIPES, THEN YOU WILL LIKE THESE POSTS!

Ingredients

• Potatoes – the waxy potatoes are the best kind for making patatas bravas.

• Olive oil – extra virgin olive oil, if possible.

• Garlic – sliced thinly or minced.

• Onion – sliced thinly.

• Spices – cayenne, cumin, sweet and hot smoked paprika

• Crushed tomatoes – I generally use canned crushed tomatoes for preparing this patatas bravas recipe.

• Sherry vinegar – just use your favorite brand.

• Frying oil – any vegetable oil with a neutral taste and can withstand extreme temperature, like canola or sunflower oil, not olive oil.

• Salt and pepper – for seasoning.

Preparation

Start preparing your patatas bravas by placing peeled potatoes into a pan with cold water.

Add a tablespoon and a half of salt (photo 1).

Place the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Lower heat, then simmer until the potatoes are tender — about ten to fifteen minutes.

Drain the parboiled potatoes and set them aside to cool.

While the patatas are boiling, you can start preparing the bravas sauce by heating olive oil on a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

Add garlic and onion (photo 2).

Cook until the onion softens.

Add cayenne, cumin, sweet and hot smoke paprika (photo 3).

Adjust the heat to medium-low and cook the spices for about two to three minutes, mixing continuously.

Add the crushed tomatoes (photo 4).

Bring the heat back to medium and mix to combine.

Add the sherry vinegar, salt, and pepper (photo 5).

Mix to combine.

Cover and let it simmer for about twenty minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasoning and spices of your patatas bravas sauce.

Take the pan off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the sauce (photo 6).

Once the potatoes are cooled, cut each one into eight portions.

Heat the frying oil in a medium-sized pan over medium-high heat.

Carefully place the slices of patatas in the pan once it’s ready (photo 7).

Cook until the patatas turn golden in color (photo 8).

Place them on top of kitchen paper to drain any excess oil.

Serve your patatas bravas with a sprinkling of sea salt, if desired.

Helpful tips

• Make sure you are parboiling the potatoes, not boiling them.

It means they’re tender but not fully cooked — the patatas will be wholly cooked once they’re fried.

• Adjust the spiciness of the patatas bravas sauce as you like by playing around with the quantity of each kind of spice.

The critical thing is using both sweet and hot smoked paprika in the sauce, which are common Spanish spices.

• Do not skip the paper towel at the end.  It helps in absorbing excess oil from the fried patatas.

Recipe variation

• Red wine vinegar. It’s an excellent sherry vinegar substitute, so feel free to use it if you have it on hand.

• Oven-roasted. Although not traditional, roasting the potatoes in the oven is an alternative to frying.

Just coat it with some olive oil, then place it in the oven, which has been preheated at 200°C (375°F).  Cook until they’re golden and crispy on the edges.

So how about it?  Give this traditional patatas bravas recipe a try this weekend!

📖 Recipe