Potatoes bravas have long become the most popular tapa, the one we always order and the one that gives us the measure of the quality of a bar. We even decide not to return if they don’t convince us. Like beer, they were inseparable from bars and terraces until confinement, which transforms everything, gave them a new domestic dimension.
That renowned chefs such as Jordi Cruz and Alberto Chicote have triumphed on Instagram with their recipes for the humble patatas bravas, gives us the nostalgic measure that the confinement meant. If we couldn’t go out to take them, we would make them at home. Giving them up was not an option.
Now, how many tried it and gave up? You are one of them? If so, don’t worry because you are average since it is not easy to know how to do them. “Bravas are not fries with ketchup and mayonnaise,” tells us Edu González, who has spent 12 years capturing his experiences tasting bravas in thousands of bars in @bravasbarcelona.
The expert, who this summer is traveling through the center of the peninsula on a bravas tour via Instagram, tells us where we went wrong when making a dish that, in addition to requiring various preparations, has changed over time and in each area it is eaten with different variations.
The key: that the potatoes are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, and that the sauce elements, tasty and spicy, are well infused.
The first mistake we can make when making patatas bravas is as short of explanation as it is important. If we want them to be amazing, we have to be clear that the preparation takes time. And it is not little. We must ensure that the sauce is just right, fry the potatoes with various cooking methods… Bravas are not potatoes with things on top.
“The worst mistake is to work too hard on the sauce and potatoes and finish the dish by covering it with a jarred mayonnaise, or putting a good aioli that you have made with care and ruining the dish with an industrial ketchup,” explains Edu González from @ bravasbarcelona, ??which is committed to doing everything by hand, even if we have to dedicate hours to it.
“The best thing is to pamper her, to give her love.” For this reason, the expert is not in favor of using the Thermomix if what we are looking for is to speed up the process. It will only be effective if we give it the necessary time to get it right.
Although there are differences in the preparation of the most common sauces in this preparation, the ingredients we use must always be of good quality and must be in the best condition. It is not worth thinking that since it is a tapa, anything will do. To make a canonical brava sauce we will need three types of paprika: spicy, sweet and smoked.
La Vera paprika is the most traditional. We will put them in the proportion we like, but we cannot go overboard or – as happens with the chilli – the spiciness will be too predominant. “If we overdo it with smoked paprika, it can give the whole thing a smoky flavor.” The potatoes that are best for frying are the Agria type, although there are also those who prefer the Pontiac or even the Monalisa.
“I have seen wonders done with Monalisa, but you have to work very carefully because it has a lot of water, it reduces a lot and the result is brown,” explains the expert. The tastiest oil is undoubtedly extra virgin olive oil, although to reduce costs sunflower or high oleic oil is used, because it withstands high temperatures very well.
Although the classic patatas bravas have the brava sauce and that’s it, it is increasingly common that they serve you two, the typical one and an aioli. If you are not orthodox, this system is very useful, because you have a better chance of succeeding, “if one doesn’t look very good on you or the diner doesn’t like it, you have the other,” González points out.
“The two sauces are seen a lot in Madrid and the formula is known as mixed bravas or bravioli (brava and aioli),” explains the @bravasbarcelona expert, who on his recent route through Salamanca and Palencia has also found this modality. If it is valid for bars, it is also valid for home, although we have to keep in mind that doing both will double our work. Aioli is traditional from Mediterranean areas, where it is common to find it as part of patatas bravas.
González cites as legendary and widely copied those made at the Tomás de Sarrià bar (Barcelona), which include aioli mixed with spicy oil (with chili peppers, paprika and pepper). If you make aioli, the expert – who has a Catalan mother and a Madrid father, which helps to understand the different styles of bravas – recommends using garlic powder to better adjust the proportion.
The original brava sauce does not contain tomatoes, but since it was introduced back in the 70s and 80s of the last century, it is already a very common ingredient in this dish. The reason? It’s very simple. “The key to its success is the color, without tomato the bravas would have an ugly, somewhat brown tone, and the tomato gives them a lively and bright tone,” explains Edu González.
It is added to preparations along with garlic and oil to make a sauce that we will later combine with the roux. The proof of how tomato has come to triumph is that temples of this dish in Madrid, such as the legendary Docamar or Las Bravas, have their own sauce and, although the original recipe would be without tomato, “if you read the ingredients, you will see that it includes it.” ”.
In fact, there are many places “that already make it with tomato and without broth,” says the expert. The bravas that Carles Abellán made with a long tomato reduction – until it is maroon – and modern spicy ingredients such as the chipotle jalapeño pepper are well remembered.
Whether we make a classic brava sauce or personalize the recipe, it is important to follow an order in its preparation and not go too fast. The first thing we will do is sauté onion, garlic, paprika and cayenne in oil (to taste), taking the time necessary for everything to infuse well.
“We have to ensure that the oil is impregnated with all the flavors, so that the paprika does not burn,” says Edu, and adds: “It’s like when we make a croquette, we have to combine ham and bechamel well.” Once this step has been completed, we add the flour – well sifted – and make a roux, but without butter. “Be patient, so that the aromatic oil is well combined with the flour.”
Then we add the broth little by little (like when making a velouté, or bechamel that uses broth instead of milk). “It is important to use a whisk to stir so that there are no lumps.” And do it over low heat. The traditional broth is chicken, although you can also use ham, for example. It is cooked for a few minutes, the sauce is crushed (something important to improve and refine its appearance) and passed through a strainer.
The potatoes can be cut into irregular cheeks that fit in the mouth or into large wedges, the most traditional cut in Castilla. At the popular Tomás bar in Barcelona, ??they prefer thick strips. Edu González recommends the easiest cut to make at home: “Thin strips because they are made before.” If we want the potatoes to be perfect before frying them, we must cook them beforehand.
There are those who boil them and those who prefer to poach them in oil, but our expert is in favor of baking them for ten minutes, and if they are of the Monalisa variety, doing it with the skin. It is better not to use the microwave “because they lose texture.” Jordi Cruz also chooses the oven to confit them, with extra virgin olive oil for one hour at 120 ºC.
Previously, he had them in cold water for 15 minutes – to eliminate the starch – and dried them very well. The subsequent and final frying – you can use the same oil as the confit – has to be quick, with the oil very hot so that it has the sealing effect and leaves them golden on the outside and tender on the inside. In two minutes they are ready.
Potatoes bravas are one of the most popular and beloved tapas, although they have also been the object of desire of great chefs. The gastronomic avant-garde has touched them with its wand for a long time. Already in the nineties Sergi Arola revolutionized the format, literally turning it upside down. He created a potato cylinder that he filled with brava sauce, which has tomato and aioli.
An idea that has been as imitated as Marc Gascons’ delicious millefeuille-shaped bravas at the El Informal restaurant. Also very original are the potato ingots by Alain Guiard in La Mundana on which buttons of different sauces and colors rest. A beautiful cover inspired by French éclairs.
And at the Bodega Manolo in Barcelona they prepare some ‘anarcobravas’ with squid ink with aioli. During confinement, the proposals of Jordi Cruz and Alberto Chicote have triumphed on Instagram. The Masterchef judge opts for a brava sauce (which has tomato) and a mayonnaise foam. Chicote told about his 2020 Salsa Brava – which is now included in his Cocina de Resistencia (Planeta) recipe book – which is very classic, without tomato or aioli, and with ham broth.
We drain them well on absorbent paper and cover them – not completely – with the sauce. Potatoes bravas are made to be consumed immediately. It does no good for them to store them or freeze them. Now, if you have made too much salsa brava, Chicote advises storing it in jars or packaging it in small quantities and keeping it in the freezer to take it out when you need it.
“You’ll just have to thaw it and boil it again.” The chef advises us to also use it as a topping for a pizza, accompanying steamed mussels, fried eggplants and even a tortilla skewer. The patatas bravas should be served warm, putting a bowl of sauce next to them in case someone wants to add more. If you have made aioli you can serve it mixed with the brava sauce, and also in another bowl.
