Patatas Bravas — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Crispy, golden cubes of fried potato drenched in a bold, smoky-spicy tomato sauce with a cooling drizzle of garlic aioli. This irresistible tapas classic fuels every bar crawl in Spain, and the debate over whose bravas sauce is best is a matter of fierce regional pride.

Ingredients

800g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
Vegetable oil for frying
400g canned crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons smoked paprika (pimentón picante)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
For the aioli: 150ml mayonnaise, 3 cloves garlic (minced), 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
Fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

1 Make the bravas sauce: heat olive oil in a saucepan, sauté garlic for 30 seconds, add both paprikas and cayenne, stirring for 10 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes, sherry vinegar, and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes until thick and rich. Blend until smooth if desired.
2 Make the aioli: mix mayonnaise with minced raw garlic, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Let rest in the fridge to develop flavor.
3 Par-boil the potato cubes in salted water for 8-10 minutes until just tender when pierced with a knife but not falling apart. Drain thoroughly and let steam dry for 5 minutes.
4 Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan to 180C (350F). Fry the potatoes in batches for 6-8 minutes until deeply golden and crispy on all sides. Do not crowd the pan.
5 Drain on paper towels and season immediately with flaky salt while still hot.
6 Pile the crispy potatoes onto a warm plate. Spoon the smoky bravas sauce generously over the top, then drizzle zigzags of garlic aioli across everything.
7 Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately with toothpicks. The potatoes must be eaten hot while the exterior is shatteringly crisp and the interior is fluffy.

Did You Know?

Every bar in Madrid claims to have the best patatas bravas, and the debate is genuinely heated. The original bravas sauce from Madrid's Bar Tomás was so famous that when the bar closed in 2018, it made national news headlines.