Patatas Bravas
Crispy potato cubes with spicy bravas sauce and creamy garlic aioli.
- Preparation
- 25 min
- Cook/bake time
- 30 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 542 kcal
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cooking & baking
- 30 min
Crispy potato cubes with spicy bravas sauce and creamy garlic aioli. The potatoes are fried twice, once gently to cook them through and once hot for the crust, just like good french fries. The most famous Spanish tapa and a different classic in every bar.
Why this works
During the first, cooler frying, the potato cooks through and loses water on the surface. In the cooling phase, more moisture escapes from the inside to the outside. The second, hot pass evaporates exactly this residual moisture abruptly and lets the outer starch layer vitrify. Fried only once, you have to decide: either cooked inside or crispy outside, both at the same time is not possible in one pass.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Precook potatoes
Boil the potato cubes in salted water for eight minutes until they are soft on the outside and a knife penetrates easily, but they still hold their shape. Drain them and let them dry completely and steam off on a cloth for ten minutes. Moist potatoes splatter in the oil and never get really crispy.
- 2
Cook bravas sauce
Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil for five minutes until translucent. Stir in smoked paprika powder, cayenne pepper and flour and roast everything for thirty seconds until fragrant. Pour in the strained tomatoes, add vinegar and sugar and let the sauce simmer for fifteen minutes until it is thick and glossy.
- 3
First frying
Heat the oil to 150 °C and fry the potato cubes in batches for six minutes without them taking on color. In this pass, the inside cooks completely through and becomes fluffy. Take them out and let them cool on a wire rack for at least ten minutes.
- 4
Second frying
Increase the oil temperature to 190 °C and fry the cubes a second time for three to four minutes until they are deep golden brown and audibly crispy. The temperature difference between the two passes is crucial: The second drives the residual moisture out of the surface and forms the crust.
- 5
Aioli and serving
Mix mayonnaise with the very finely grated garlic, lemon juice and salt to a strong aioli. Salt the hot potatoes immediately, pile them on a plate and pour the bravas sauce over them. Add dollops of aioli and serve immediately with toothpicks.
Our best tips
- Fry twice with a cooling break in between. This is the same principle as for perfect french fries.
- Really let the potatoes dry after precooking, otherwise nothing will get crispy.
- Smoked paprika powder cannot be replaced here. It provides the typical Spanish aroma of the sauce.
Tasty variations
From the oven
Mix precooked cubes with oil and bake at 220 °C convection for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
Only with aioli
In many bars, the potatoes are served only with aioli, which is then called Patatas Alioli.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 542 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 52 g |
| – of which sugar | 8 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Fiber | 6 g |
Estimated, not calculated – why
Here some of the ingredients never reach the plate: most frying oil stays in the pan, and in a stock the solids are strained off. How much of it ends up in the food cannot be calculated – counting a litre of oil would quintuple the figure, leaving it out would describe a dish baked without fat. So this is an editorial estimate rather than a total that would look dependable without being so.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
How spicy are Patatas Bravas?
Bravas means wild or brave, so they should be noticeably spicy. You can control this well up or down via the cayenne pepper.
Is this real aioli?
No, real alioli consists only of garlic, oil and salt and is emulsified in a mortar. The mayonnaise variant is the everyday shortcut.
Can I prepare the sauce in advance?
Yes, it keeps for five days in the refrigerator and tastes just as good warmed up. The potatoes must be freshly fried.
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