Patatas Bravas

Crispy rosemary flavoured roast potatoes topped with a smokey spicy brava sauce and finished with roasted garlic aoli – its no wonder patatas bravas are such a universally beloved Spanish dish!

Alongside Spanish tortilla, and ajillo mushrooms (garlic mushrooms), plates of these crispy potatoes and spicy sauce are often seen in tapas bars around Spain.

Why We Love This Recipe

• The patatas bravas sauce (Salsa brava) is smokey from smoked paprika, with a spicy kick, and packs a flavourful punch!
• Many traditional Spanish recipes fry the potatoes, but I prefer to roast them until golden. This way I can flavour them with rosemary and garlic, and use less oil.
• The quick roasted garlic aioli is made with bought mayonnaise, but also includes yogurt to lighten it. Roasting the garlic until sweet creates an aioli that isn’t as strong as an aioli made with raw garlic.
• The tapa idea is such a social way to eat. The evenings we sat – or stood – around tables during the hot summer evenings in Seville with friends, eating and drinking for hours, were glorious. When we have guests over I often make tapas style spreads so everyone can help themselves to what they want, and eat as much – or little – as they like!

Ingredients Notes And Substitutions

Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities.

• Potatoes – in Australia I recommend using Dutch cream, Sebago or Desiree, in the UK King Edward or Maris Piper, and in the US Yukon Gold, for the crispiest roast potatoes.
• Olive oil – I use a regular olive oil to roast the potatoes in.
• Rosemary – a couple of sprigs of rosemary add a lovely flavour to the roast potatoes. You can substitute with ¼ – ½ teaspoon dried rosemary if you prefer.
• Garlic – 4 cloves are used altogether: 2 cloves are roasted in their skins with the potatoes and then used to make the aioli; the other 2 are used in the brava sauce.
• Tomatoes – tinned / canned crushed or diced tomatoes.
• Smoked paprika – I use a combination of mild smoked paprika and hot smoked paprika to get that delicious smoky flavour with a hint of heat. If you can’t find hot smoked paprika, substitute with a pinch of cayenne or chilli flakes.
• Ground cumin – this earthy spice adds a lovely background flavour to the brava sauce.
• Sherry vinegar – made from sherry, this slightly sweet Spanish vinegar is added to the sauce to give it a tangy flavour. Substitute with red wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar.
• Mayonnaise – I recommend using a good quality egg mayonnaise.
• Yogurt – mixing plain Greek yogurt with mayo lightens up the aioli, and gives the sauce a slight sharpness, which I love.

How To Make This Patatas Bravas Recipe

(For the full, detailed recipe, please see the recipe card at the end of the post.)

1. Roast the potatoes – first boil the potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes, then drain. Place the potatoes back in to the pan, place the lid on the pan and shake it to rough up the sides of the potatoes – these will become extra crispy as they roast.
2. Tip the potatoes out on to the baking tin then add the garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs, and season with salt and black pepper. Place in the preheated oven.

My Recipe Tips

• Salt the potato water – this seasons the potatoes from the inside out.
• You can peel the potatoes or leave the skins on – roasting the potatoes in their skins not only reduces food waste, but they go super crispy and delicious!
• Sauce texture – you can keep the sauce slightly chunky, or blend with a stick blender until smooth.
• Brava sauce – when you taste the brava sauce on its own, it can taste a little tangy from the vinegar, however when combined with the roasted potatoes and rich, creamy aioli, it works so well and balances out!

What to serve with patatas bravas

Serve alongside other favourite tapas recipes ajillo mushrooms (Spanish garlic mushrooms, as seen in the image above), spanish tortilla, orange and pomegranate salad, and cucumber gazpacho, with slices of manchego cheese and cured meats, and olives.

We also enjoy these crispy spicy Spanish potatoes with roast chicken, BBQ lamb, steak or salmon,

Variations

• Dairy Free / Vegan Patatas Bravas – use dairy free plain yogurt mixed with vegan mayo in place of the regular yogurt and mayo.
• Aioli – if you prefer, mix four tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise with 1 clove crushed raw garlic.