You want irregular chunks of potato, twice-fried until the crust ticks with oil, then dressed in a rust-red sauce of pimentón whose heat is the point. They come in a small cazuela. You eat them standing, with a cold caña, before that crust goes limp.
This is Madrid tapas-bar cooking, not an older peasant kitchen. Bravas sauce as we know it is a twentieth-century invention of the capital — tomato, pimentón de la Vera, a little flour to bind — and the arguments about alioli are as old as the bars that serve them.
Spoon the sauce over, not under, so the crust stays itself. Alioli may sit beside if you like; the potatoes remain unapologetically spicy. Don't let them wait.
Method
- 01
Peel the potatoes and cut them into irregular chunks about 1¼ inches across — you want the odd angles, not neat cubes, so they crisp in more places. Rinse off the surface starch, then dry them thoroughly with a kitchen towel; wet potatoes will spit and steam rather than fry. Salt them lightly and set them aside while the oil heats.
- 02
Warm a generous depth of olive oil in a deep pan over moderate heat — it should shimmer, not smoke. Slide in the potatoes and fry until just tender when pierced, 12 to 15 minutes; they shouldn't brown yet. Lift them out, raise the heat until the oil is frankly hot, and return the potatoes to crisp and take on color. Drain on paper and salt them while they still tick with heat.
- 03
For the salsa brava, spoon 3 tablespoons of that frying oil into a small pan and soften the minced garlic until it smells sweet. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour and both pimentones — this keeps the paprika from scorching. Return it to the stove with the tomatoes, vinegar, and stock, and simmer until thick and brick-red, about 8 minutes. Taste and season; it should be boldly spicy.
- 04
Pile the potatoes on a warm plate — warmth matters, or the crust goes limp before you sit down. Spoon the bravas sauce over the top, not underneath; you want that rust-red coat sitting on the crust, not a soggy puddle. Serve them at once, while the oil is still ticking. Alioli may sit beside; the potatoes themselves should arrive unapologetically spicy.
