Patatas Bravas

Serves 4

Patatas bravas is a traditional dish from Madrid the Spanish capital. Sauteed potatoes served with a hot tomato and chilli sauce. Patatas bravas are normally served as traditional Spanish tapas.

This recipe is very simple and quick to cook, like most other tapas dishes. The individual ingredients have robust  flavours so need very little done with them to make the most of their taste, a little fresh chilli and garlic is magic, when fried they smell wonderful and can turn a meal from being alright to fabulously delicious. When you have fresh ingredients often the best tasting things are the simplest.

Patatas bravas is wonderful to share and enjoy with friends and a bottle or two of cava, as part of a fun, relaxed tapas meal. If you don’t fancy tapas, this potato recipe is great as a side dish, to lasagne, pasta, grilled fish, roast dinner, almost anything and makes a fantastic slightly healthier change from chips, which your whole family can enjoy.

Ingredients

• 16 new potatoes , quartered
• Basil leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil, for frying

For the tomato sauce

• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• Half onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 240g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• ¼  tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 1 tbsp Basil
• 1 small red chilli, chopped

Method

For the sauce

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan.
2. Add in the onions and fry gently until translucent, then add the garlic and chilli and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
3. Add in the tomato puree, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper then the can tomato and finally basil.
4. Simmer and cook gently for 6 minutes.
5. Cool slightly then blend with a blender.

For the potatoes

1. Boil the new potatoes until tender, drain and cool by running cold water over potatoes.
2. Heat  the rest of the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the potatoes until golden brown.
3. Serve potatoes with sauce on top and a few basil leaves.