Bravas means fierce, and in a cuisine that generally treats chili with caution, these potatoes are about as wild as the bar counter gets. They are on bar menus all over Spain: irregular chunks of potato fried until golden, served hot in a small dish with a toothpick or two and a spoonful of salsa brava, a smooth red sauce of olive oil and paprika with a slow, warming heat. Most accounts place their birth in the bars of Madrid in the middle of the twentieth century, though at least one other Spanish city tells a rival story, as is only proper for a dish this popular.

There is no single correct sauce. In Madrid it is usually the paprika sauce alone, while many bars elsewhere add a second dollop of alioli, garlic mayonnaise, and argue the point cheerfully. This version gives you both and lets the table decide. The potatoes are boiled before frying, which is the secret to a fluffy center inside a crust that stays crisp long enough to survive a lap of conversation.

Salsa brava

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons hot paprika (pimentón picante)
• 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Method

1. Warm the olive oil in the small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and stir in both paprikas. Paprika burns in seconds over direct heat and turns bitter, so always add it off the heat.
3. Return the pan to low heat and pour in the hot stock a little at a time, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring often.
4. Stir in the vinegar and salt, then blend until completely smooth, either in the pan with a stick blender or carefully in a blender with the lid vented. Taste and add more hot paprika if you like it fiercer.

Alioli

Ingredients

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) mild olive oil or a mix of olive and neutral oil

Method

1. Set the bowl on a damp cloth so it does not slide. Whisk the egg yolk, garlic, lemon juice and salt together, then add the oil a few drops at a time, whisking constantly, for the first quarter of the oil.
2. Once it has thickened, pour in the rest of the oil in a thin, steady stream, still whisking. If it becomes too thick to whisk, add a teaspoon of water. If it splits, whisk a fresh yolk in a clean bowl and slowly whisk the split sauce into it.

The potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) floury or all purpose potatoes
• 1 tablespoon fine salt
• about 6 cups (1.4 liters) olive oil or sunflower oil

Method

1. Put the potatoes in the large saucepan, cover with cold water by 1 inch (2.5 cm) and add the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.
2. Drain in the colander and shake it gently a few times to rough up the edges. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and leave them to steam dry for at least 15 minutes, until cool and dry to the touch.
3. Pour oil into the heavy pot to a depth of about 2 1/2 inches (6 cm), no more than one third full. Heat over medium high heat to 375°F (190°C), checking with the thermometer.
4. Lower about a third of the potatoes into the oil with the slotted spoon. Fry for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them now and then, until deep golden and crisp. Lift them out onto the paper towel lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt at once. Let the oil return to 375°F (190°C) before each new batch.

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