If you’re anything like me, when eating at a Spanish tapas restaurant you can’t pass up the quintessential tapas dish – patatas bravas. These little potatoes are a little spicy and a little tomato-y and just perfect dipped into a classic garlic aioli! We made a super garlicky aioli to go with ours, and it was delicious! Traditionally, these potatoes are fried and then topped with a spicy tomato sauce. But tonight we roasted our potatoes, after they had been tossed in the tomato sauce. The results were crispy and flavorful, with a soft interior to each bite. This is a great side dish for a group and is a pretty convenient dish to have to make when entertaining guests. So much can be done in advance – the potatoes can be chopped and tossed in the sauce well before cooking, and if you want to make an aioli (hint: you do!) that can also be done in advance.
We had ours tonight with a less traditional accompaniment – steamed Chesapeake Bay blue crabs! Don’t be skeptical… they worked perfectly together! We ate this delicious summer smorgasbord with Ally’s aunt, uncle, and cousin. Up next we may just share the gorgeous summer salad you see in the corner of the picture below, courtesy of Ally’s cousin Emily!
Roasted Patatas Bravas
Ingredients:
- 4 Russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 tomato paste
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 15 turns fresh ground black pepper
- 1+ tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Chop potatoes into bite-sized chunks.
- In a large bowl, stir together all of the remaining ingredients.
- Toss the potatoes in the bowl and coat with the sauce.
- Spread the potatoes out on a cookie sheet (or two), avoiding overcrowding. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, flipping them over roughly halfway through.
Bon Appetit Baby! 