WIAW #48: Patatas Bravas

Happy Halloween everyone! If you had to endure Sandy I hope everyone did okay during the storm.  Aaron and I were relatively unscathed but had NO INTERNET! So this post is coming so much later than I would have like to have had it.

I guess these eats would have to be “during the storm” but since we only had a slight flicker of the lights, we were able to eat quite well. Plus, we were shut inside due to the scary winds and crazy storms so I got bored and cooked.

What did you eat during the storm, eh?

 

On Monday night we struggled to have Spanish tapas again on Aaron’s request.

I didn’t get great photos of everything else but I perfected my Patatas Bravas recipe along with very traditional Chickpea and spinach bake and Spanish style turkey sausage in a spicy tomato sauce. I felt very authentic if I do say myself.

On Tuesday we were at home with no internet and it still wasn’t a great idea to leave due to all of the closed roads with debris from the night before.

 

I started with some homemade cinnamon French toast with light brown sugar and a jonagold apple

Lunch was mostly leftovers (not to mention the leftover baked apple stuffed with walnuts and craisins I had for a snack, yum yum)

For dinner I made pretty much what I could find in the refrigerator and it turned out really good:

 

Sautéed Sweet Potatoes, kale and turkey sausage over quinoa. Really delicious and Aaron shoved it down his face.

For dessert:

 

Chocolate chip cookies I made out of boredom (with icecream of course)
What if the power went out?

 Oh and today's meal: my favorite chicken cutlet sandwich from Civera's in Drexel Hill split with Aaron


Since today is Halloween despite this hurricane aftermath I thought I would post something in honor of Dias de los muertos (Mexican I know) I thought Spanish would be festive since it is also All Saints Day there. 

For the patatas bravas, it seems silly to post the recipe as they are so simple but I couldn’t believe how good they turned out and I needed to share them. This is a super traditional Spanish tapas found all over Spain in probably every tapas bar there is and it couldn’t be easier. You will love how the crispy potatoes with garlic aioli and spicy tomato sauce mix together. Patatas Bravas literally means “angry potatoes” but you will be too happy eating them to notice the ironic name. I promise.

 It might take you awhile to get the sauces down to your preference but it’s worth it.  If you have a blender or food processor I recommend giving the “bravas” sauce a whirl to make it nice and smooth. (if so you can use real tomatoes instead of paste.) If not, don’t worry, it will still taste great.

This is great if for a homemade tapas party like we did Friday for a friend and again for ourselves! It is also good if you just want a treat. My version is baked potatoes, but traditional the potatoes are fried in a pot of oil. This is definitely not an everyday dish since the aioli is basically mayonnaise and your are eating potatoes with olive oil. But hey, we can only live once so vive la patatas bravas!

Patatas Bravas
Makes 1 large platter (4 or some servings)

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:
Six Russet potatoes or other variety, peeled and chopped to half-dollar sized cubes
Olive oil
½ tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Garlic salt

For the Bravas sauce:
3 tbsp. tomato paste
5 tbsp. olive oil or enough until smooth
1-2 tbsp. hot sauce or sriracha depending on desired hotness
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
Black pepper to taste

For the Aioli sauce:
5 tbsp. light mayonnaise
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. garlic powder
A dash of cumin (if you have it)
Black pepper


Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a large baking dish, coat a little olive oil on the bottom of the pan.
In a large bowl coat cut potatoes in 3 tbsp. olive oil, ½ tsp. paprika, and 1 tsp. garlic salt until evenly coated.

Spread potatoes in the prepared baking dish and bake for at least 1 hour. Half way through baking turn up heat to 425 degrees for remainder of time or until potatoes are soft inside and golden and crispy on the outside. Take potatoes out half way and mix around, scraping off bottom of the pan.

You may need to bake for additional 20-30 minutes depending on the type of potato, but watch closely so the potatoes do not burn.

While potatoes are cooking mix ingredients for the bravas sauce in a sauce bowl until smooth. (Add additional olive oil if necessary until a smooth sauce forms.)  Spoon the sauce into a small plastic ziplock bag and refrigerate until potatoes are done.

Repeat directions for ingredients of the aioli sauce (without additional olive oil) and refrigerate. (When potatoes are done, squeeze sauces a little to mix inside bag)

Once potatoes are finished arrange on a large plate. Take each bag of sauce and cut a small tip from the bottom of the plastic bag using it to pipe sauce on to the potatoes in a zig zag. Start with the aioli and repeat with the bravas sauce making a crisscross pattern.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

As storms go this one wasn’t as bad as it could have been for us, but unfortunately many others were not as lucky. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who did not do well over the weekend.

Love,

The College Cuisiner