Patatas bravas is the most ordered tapas dish in Spain and at the same time the one most often made wrong outside the country. Most Norwegian versions are fried potatoes with a tomato sauce and a dollop of garlic mayonnaise. In Madrid, where the dish belongs, neither of those two things is in it.
Salsa brava contains no tomato
This is the point the whole dish stands or falls on. The original salsa brava from Madrid is cheap post-war food: onion and garlic softened in oil, flour stirred in, paprika, stock and vinegar. No tomato, no ketchup, no mayonnaise. Many Madrid kitchens still refuse to use them. The colour comes from paprika, not from tomato, and the heat comes from hot paprika.
Aioli does not belong to the original either. Potatoes with garlic aioli is a dish in its own right and a Barcelona custom, where Bar Tomás in Sarrià is the famous address. Serve both brava and aioli and you are making that variant, not the Madrid version. That is perfectly fine, but it is worth knowing what you are doing.
The sauce
Heat olive oil in a pan and let finely chopped onion and garlic soften without browning. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the flour and paprika, both sweet and hot. This is the critical second: paprika burns almost instantly and turns bitter, so it should never meet full heat. Add hot stock a little at a time while whisking, put it back on the heat and let the sauce simmer until it coats a spoon. Blend it smooth, and season it with sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar and salt.
The potatoes
Peel almond potatoes or other firm potatoes and cut them into cubes of two to three centimetres. The secret is two rounds: first a gentle pre-fry in oil over medium heat for eight to ten minutes until they are tender right through, then up with the heat and a short, hard round until they are golden and crisp on the outside. Drain them on a rack rather than on paper and they stay crisp for longer.
Serving
The sauce goes over the potatoes and not under them, and it goes on just before serving. Leave the potatoes sitting in sauce and they lose their crust within minutes. Many places in Madrid use the sauce sparingly, as a stripe across rather than a lake. The rest of the Spanish range is under Spain, and olives belong on the same table.
If you are putting a whole tapas table together, the tapas guide makes it quicker. If you want something larger from the same kitchen, paella is the natural next step, and churros round the meal off.
Frequently asked questions
What does patatas bravas mean?
Roughly angry or fierce potatoes. Bravas refers to the sauce, which is traditionally the hot part of the dish.
How is patatas bravas made?
Potato cubes are fried in oil in two rounds, first gently until tender, then hard until crisp. Over the top goes salsa brava of onion, garlic, flour, paprika, stock and vinegar.
Can you make patatas bravas the day before?
The sauce, yes. It is better for a night in the fridge and reheats easily. The potatoes are best fried the same day, but you can pre-fry them in the morning and give them the final hard round just before serving.
Does the sauce have to be hot?
You decide the heat with the ratio of sweet to hot paprika. A classic brava has clear warmth, but it should taste of paprika and vinegar, not just burn.
