Bravo For Patatas Bravas With Chorizo!

I don't know a single soul who doesn't love potatoes and these patatas bravas are a classic Spanish tapas dishes that is a real crowd pleaser. Crispy potato cubes are served with a divinely rich spicy tomato based sauce and garlic aioli. Add in chorizo and you've got a dish that everyone will love and ask for seconds of!

I will always love this dish because of the bold tomato based sauce on top of this. In fact after making it this way, I've used this tomato sauce in all tomato dishes. The bravas sauce (bravas meaning "fierce, ferocious or angry") is so wonderfully full of flavour. It's great for lasagna and it's so intensely delicious that that is all you need to flavour a dish. I urge you to try this tomato sauce just once and you may become addicted to making all your tomato sauces using this recipe. The chorizo wasn't even needed for this dish although I'd never say no to chorizo at any time. Normally the potatoes are deep fried but I've baked these but feel free to deep fry them if you prefer.

I was so besotted by this dish that I actually burnt the roof of my mouth. A less greedy person would have spit out the hot potato chunk but I didn't. It was too tasty. Instead I tried lobbing it about in my mouth using my tongue to cool it before eating it and gurgling "heeeelp me," to Mr NQN who remained impassive and unimpressed by my self induced food situation.

He told me the other day that I was talking in my sleep, something I don't often do. "You kept moaning 'Help me' over and over," he explained. I was slightly alarmed. I didn't recall having a nightmare or having a dream in which I needed help. Mostly my dreams are pleasant and involve travelling to distant, unknown locations.

"So did you help me?" I asked to which he answered no. I decided to cut him some slack for that because waking me up deserves hazard pay. Also perhaps helping me when I had eaten a hot potato too would warrant hazard pay!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever burn the roof of your mouth from eating something too quickly/too hot? And do you talk in your sleep?

Amazing Patatas Braavas

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 60 minutes

• 1kg/2.2lbs potatoes, peeled or unpeeled (I'm lazy so I rarely peel potatoes)
• 200g/7ozs. chorizo
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons polenta

For bravas sauce

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled and diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 400g/14oz. tin tomatoes
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• 1-2 chillies, sliced
• Garlic aioli to serve

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 220C/440F and line a tray with parchment. Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces and boil for 5 minutes. Then drain well and toss in polenta and olive oil. Bake until starting to turn golden (30-45 minutes depending on how big you've cut them). Then add the chorizo and bake for another 15 minutes. The potatoes should be crispy and golden and the chorizo cooked through.

Step 2 - While the potatoes are baking make the bravas sauce. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and saute the onion until starting to become translucent. Add the garlic and extra tablespoon of oil and saute for 30 seconds or so. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and cook on high uncovered (it will splatter somewhat, sorry!). After 5 minutes add the sugar, paprika, chillis and salt and pepper. Allow to reduce until scarlet red and the sauce is really reduced. Then puree with a stick blender.

Step 3 - Serve the potatoes and chorizo with a few tablespoons of the bravas sauce and aioli.