Patatas Bravas: Spanish Food Recipes

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This is a great dish now that it is cooling down and you can warm up your house with this healthier roasted potato version of Patatas Bravas. You will also love it as the smell of roasting potatoes fills the room. I make these at least once a week as it is an easy recipe with few ingredients, to have cooking while you prepare the rest of any meal. These potatoes are amazing as a side or as an appetizer with some Spanish beer and other assorted Spanish tapas.

Cooking Tools:
Large Casserole Dish or 2 Small Casserole Dishes
Knife
Measuring Spoons and Cups
Kitchen Towel
Cutting Board
Oven Mitt
Metal Mixing Bowl

Patatas Bravas Ingredients: 
2 Large Potatoes
Cup Kosher Salt
2 Table Spoons Spanish Smoked Paprika (Pimenton, Dulce or Picante)
2 Table Spoons Olive Oil
1 Table Spoon Butter

Patatas Bravas Sauce: 
Catsup
White Wine Vinegar
Hot Sauce

Total Time: Approximately 1 hour

Patatas Bravas Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit (218 Celsius). Put your casserole dish(es) in the oven. Wet your potatoes with water and coat with Kosher salt. Rub the potatoes to scrub the any dirt off. The salt will help scrape the potatoes clean. Wash off any residual salt and dry the potatoes with a towel.

Cut the potatoes lengthwise along the side and then quarter each half. They should be around 1 inch cubes, but consistent size is most important for even cooking. Dry the potatoes quickly.

Take your casserole dish out of the oven and put in your olive oil. Put the pat of butter in the olive oil and swirl the two together around the base of the dish. Put your potatoes cubes in the casserole dish and coat them with the oil/butter mixture. If it is too hot to use your hand, use a spoon. Arrange all of the potato cubes skin side down. Make sure there is some space in between the potatoes and do not stack them. You don't want them to steam themselves. If it is too packed, get another dish and repeat the process for the remainder of the potatoes.

Put the Casserole dishes in the oven and set a timer for 25 minutes. Once this time is up, stir the potatoes around with a spoon to re-coat with the oil and put the dish back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Just make sure they are in a single layer when they go back in to avoid steaming. Once this time is up take the potatoes out and coat with about a table spoon of salt or to your taste. Put back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until golden brown, crispy on the outside, and soft in the middle.

Smoked Paprika- Pimenton

While the potatoes are cooking you can mix your sauce together. I just mix catsup, white wine vinegar, and Frank's Red Hot together. You can try different measurements of each, but I just throw the three together to thin out the catsup slightly. This helps it coat the potato with a subtle flavor. Truthfully these potatoes are so good, you don't need the sauce. You could also mix in some Mayo if you want to go crazy.

Place the potatoes in a metal mixing bowl and coat with the table spoon of Spanish Smoked Paprika. You can use hot or sweet pimenton depending on how brave you are. I also like to mix it up from time to time and add fresh chopped rosemary, garlic powder, or simply throw garlic cloves in the dish for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Once you do this a hundred times, you will want to make variations, since they are so tasty in multiple ways.

Patatas Bravas Side Note: I also cooked these on the grill by placing the casserole dish over indirect heat on top of a caste iron skillet. The key is to keep an eye on the temperature and try to keep it consistent so your grill will act like an oven.