Patatas Bravas with Two Sauces: Smoky Romesco and Garlic Aioli
Try this recipe for my favorite tapas recipe, patatas bravas made with two delicious dipping sauces - smoky romesco and garlic aioli! I cut mine into wide and thick “chips” for more crispy surface area, before tossing it with romesco sauce and drizzling with the garlic aioli!
Emotional eating gets a bad rep, but frankly, the alternative doesn't sound all that fun. Who wants to be an emotionless eater?? Not I!
On a biological level, it's pretty near impossible to completely divorce emotion from food. As human beings, we need food to survive, and so our bodies are hardwired to experience a pleasure response when we eat. Furthermore, as humans we are constantly experiencing a wide range of emotions. It’s not like there’s a switch to turn that off at mealtime!
We also hold thousands of memories of food and eating experiences, and those memories (positive or negative) will impact how we feel when we eat in the present. When a food is associated with times you felt happy, sad, stressful, or angry, it’s very likely to bring up similar feelings when you eat it.
For example, patatas bravas is a dish that will always make me feel warm and fuzzy inside because I have so many happy memories enjoying it.
There was the first time I remember trying patatas bravas, when Scott and I went to San Diego 10 years ago - our very first trip together. We went to Cafe Sevilla and drank sangria and ate paella and patatas bravas and ceviche, and I'm pretty sure I decided I could marry him on that trip because he was so much fun to travel with.
There was the time the hubs was out of town, and I was bored and feeling kinda in the dumps, so I created a giant tapas spread all for myself. I made a platter of patatas bravas, spanish omelette, manchego cheese, anchovies in vinegar, and marcona almonds and ate leftovers for days. It felt so luxurious to create such a pretty spread all for myself, and it definitely got me out of my funk.
Then there was the time I had patatas bravas with my aunt in Mallorca, our first tapas of the trip after an afternoon wandering the winding, narrow passageways of Palma. Or the time we ate patatas bravas on a beautiful patio overlooking the valley around Valldemossa. Or the time we ate patatas bravas while people watching in Port Soller. We ate a lot of patatas bravas on that trip...
How to Make My Favorite Patatas Bravas with Two Sauces
This recipe for patatas bravas with two dipping sauces is my pretty successful (if I may give myself some credit here) attempt at creating my favorite tapas dish at home. If you've never had patatas bravas before, it's a traditional tapas dish of fried or roasted potatoes tossed or drizzled with a spicy tomato sauce and aioli. It’s one of the most popular tapas dishes, and when you’ve spent some time in Spanish drinking culture it’s easy to see why! It’s perfect for soaking up a cold glass of vermuth or sangria!
Patatas bravas are usually cut into a shape that’s more similar to home fries than French fries. In Spain, they’re typically deep fried or pan fried. I like to roast mine so I can work on the patatas bravas sauces while it cooks without worrying about the potatoes burning. To get your roasted potatoes extra crispy, I cut them into rounds, because the cut surface gets crispier.
While the potatoes are roasting and getting nice and crispy, blend up the romesco sauce and whisk together the ingredients for the aioli. Unless you are one of those fancy people with two ovens, you’ll want to char the ingredients for the romesco sauce before popping the potatoes in the oven.
To serve, enjoy the freshly cooked potatoes tossed with the spicy romesco sauce and drizzled with a bit of aioli. I like to toss all the potatoes to evenly coat with romesco, but you could also serve it dolloped over the top.
How to Make Patatas Bravas Sauces:
This patatas bravas recipe is serve with two different sauces, a smoky romesco sauce and garlicky aioli.
First comes the smoky romesco sauce.The traditional patatas bravas sauce is a simple tomato sauce spiked with plenty of hot smoked paprika. I made mine a little more romesco sauce-like by thickening it with almonds and roasting the vegetables for more smoky flavor. I also added a bit of harissa for more of a kick, but feel free to leave it out if you prefer less spice or don't have it on hand. It’s super tasty and versatile, and you’ll be happy the recipe makes enough for leftovers! It’s also tasty drizzled over a grain bowl, as a spicy pasta sauce, served with a simple potato frittata, or with grilled meats.
To make it, first char tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, and a few garlic cloves in the oven. Blend the veggies with olive oil, almonds, and balsamic plus smoked paprika and harissa for smoky, spicy flavor. I blend mind till it’s nice and creamy in a high powered food processor.
The garlic aioli is even more simple - simply blend store bought mayonnaise with a pressed garlic clove and a bit of lemon juice. Or if you like, save time with a store bought garlic aioli. Conversely, get fancy and make your own homemade garlic aioli from egg yolk and oil as a patatas bravas sauce.
What to Serve with Patatas Bravas with Two Sauces
This recipe is best served as part of a tapas spread. here’s some other Spanish tapas dishes it would go well with:
A mixed green salad with prosciutto, goat cheese and roasted asparagus
Anchovies drizzled with red wine vinegar
Chunks of manchego cheese
Olives
While this dish is traditionally served as a tapas dish, I also like to round it out into a meal by serving it with garlicky sauteed kale and a fried egg. Yolk porn + smoky tomato sauce + crispy potatoes = ohhhh yeah!
This patatas bravas with two sauces recipe was originally shared October 2014. Text and images have been updated.
Patatas Bravas with Two Sauces: Smoky Romesco and Garlic Aioli
Serves: whatever you're hungry for!
Ingredients
Smoky romesco sauce:
1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into thick slices
1/2 red onion, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1 tablespoon harissa (optional)
1/4 cup parsley
Potatoes:
Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
Extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Garlic aioli sauce:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 very small garlic clove, minced
Instructions
First, make the sauce. Preheat oven to broil. Toss the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic with olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet and place under the broiler until tender and very lightly charred in spots, about 2-3 minutes total. Check to make sure the garlic doesn't burn - you might need to remove it after a minute or two when it's golden.
Squeeze garlic into a food processor or high powered blender with the broiled vegetables, almonds, balsamic, paprika, harissa and parsley. Blend until pureed and smooth. Season with salt to taste.
Reduce heat in oven to 425 degrees. Toss potatoes with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper and spread evenly on a large baking sheet. Place in the oven and roast 25 minutes. Flip, and roast for another 10-15 minutes until golden and crispy.
While potatoes are roasting, whisk together mayonnaise, lemon juice and olive oil to make aioli.
Toss hot potatoes with some of the romesco sauce in a serving dish. Drizzle with aioli. Serve immediately.
If you like this recipe for patatas bravas with two sauces, you might also like:
Citrus, Fennel and Arugula Salad with Marcona Almonds
Spanish Chickpeas and Kale
Where to Eat in Mallorca
