Patatas Bravas :: Or, Roasted Potatoes with an Easy Homemade Tomato Ketchup Alternative


I had to give you that title, lest you think I've gone all fancy on you now that I'm back home in my own kitchen in Brisbane. Nope. No way. This is an incredibly easy recipe that maybe you won't want to make when it's 35degC outside, like I did, but hey. Sometimes a girl needs some potatoes. Now.

I hope this post will show you that sometimes really simple things have exotic-sounding names, because their origins are far-away countries with a Mediterranean climate and a love of olives and wine and dancing. That doesn't make them any less simple, though it does make them adaptable.

What do I mean?

Me, feeding my child:
"Look! Roasted potatoes with tomato ketchup!"

Me, feeding dinner party guests:
"Voila! Patatas bravas! How about another glass of wine?"

See how easy that is? Almost as easy as the recipe itself.
Happy weekending,
Amanda xx

***********
Patatas Bravas (or)
Roasted Potatoes w/ Paprika & Tomato Sauce
serves 4-6

Having loved patatas bravas at a number of tapas restaurants the world over (most recently, here), I was eventually going to have to make them for myself. And my family, of course. I stuck with my own low-oil method of roasting a good, crispy potato and hunted for a good sauce recipe online - the sauce recipe here is a mishmash of several, including this one. Once you get everything chopped, plant a glass of red wine firmly in one hand (preferably yours) for the remainder of the recipe.

The time
20 min prep + 20-30 min roasting 

The ingredients (roasting)
1kg potatoes, scrubbed and chopped (I used dutch cream)
boiling water, to cover
2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
a sprinkling of sea salt

The ingredients (sauce)
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1-2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 c passata (or tomato puree)
2 tsp Spanish paprika
a pinch or two of chile powder
a pinch of raw sugar
1/2 tsp sherry vinegar (or w/wine vinegar)

*Try to use organic ingredients when you can!

The process
1. First,  preheat the oven to 200degC (400degF). Nice and hot. 

2. Get your potatoes washed and chopped, pop them in a large non-metallic dish, and cover them with boiling water. Leave for 5 or so minutes - this will speed your roasting-and-crisping process markedly. Then, drain the water, pat the potatoes dry, and spread them across a baking sheet, dousing and coating them with the olive oil and sea salt. 

Roast in your preheated oven until the potatoes are browned and crispy, turning them periodically if need be. I estimate they'll take 20-30 min to roast, but as I've managed to rub the temperature markings off my oven dial, I really have no idea what exact temperature I used. Oops. So I'm not even going to try to guess how long the roasting will take you, but I'd imagine you'll get a glass of wine down in the meantime.

3. While the potatoes do their thing, make the sauce. Start by sauteing the chopped/minced onion and garlic in olive oil over med heat until soft, then add the remainder of the sauce ingredients. After the sauce starts to bubble optimistically, reduce the heat and simmer 5-10 min to get all those flavours mingling, then remove it from heat entirely and set aside till the potatoes are ready. The sauce is great served at room temperature, so don't worry about keeping it hot-but-not-burned. Leave it be.

4. When they're finished, simply spoon the potatoes onto a paper-towel-lined plate to remove excess oil - then transfer them in nice-sized portions onto individual serving plates. The sauce can either go on top of the potatoes or in a small dish alongside them, your choice.

Enjoy! xx

Comments

  1. Ha! I love the idea of presto changeo potatoes for all occasions. That tomato sauce looks great too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Eileen We are ALL about presto-chango around here! How else would we put together 3 course, gourmet meals everynight?

    ;) haha

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting! Amandaxx