Duck Fat Roasted Patatas Bravas

Ever since first travelling to Spain and tasting this simple but impossibly delicious dish, I have been on a lifelong mission to find the best patatas bravas. The concept is simple: crispy potatoes, a tomato based salsa, and a creamy aioli. I just can’t help but order them if I see them on a menu, so trust me when I say, I’ve tried A LOT.

The key to nailing this dish lies in the execution of the three simple elements, and I’ve tried and tried again to perfect this Spanish classic. I’ve experimented with frying and roasting the potatoes, fresh and canned tomatoes, and homemade vs store-bought mayo. My resulting recipe strikes a pretty magical balance between ingredients and techniques to land this version of the classic up there with some of the best authentic versions I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Nothing can beat the pure joy of snacking on these crisp beauties on a cobblestone side street in Barcelona, but this version comes pretty dang close!

Duck Fat Roasted Patatas Bravas

Total time: 75 minutes

Hands-on time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 3 large russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup duck fat or neutral oil*

For the salsa brava:

• 5 roma tomatoes
• 2 red chillies (pencil chillies)
• 2 shallots
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup cooking sherry
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt + pepper

For the aioli:

• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup neutral oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

To garnish:

• Fresh chives, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Prep the potatoes: Preheat oven to 415°F convection (430°F without). Boil peeled, chopped potatoes in well-salted water for 8–10 minutes until just fork-tender. Drain, steam dry in the pot for 1 minute with the lid off, and shake gently to rough up the edges.
2. Roast: While potatoes boil, heat duck fat in a roasting tray in the oven. Once hot, add potatoes and coat well. Roast 45–55 minutes, flipping occasionally, until golden and crisp. Season with salt immediately.
3. Make the salsa: Roast tomatoes and chillies on a sheet pan with olive oil, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp each of sweet and smoked paprika for ~30 minutes. Peel chillies. In a pan, sauté shallots and 4 garlic cloves with olive oil. Add 1/2 tsp each paprika, tomato paste, and cook 1 min. Deglaze with sherry. Add roasted veg and stock. Simmer 5 min, blend with butter until mostly smooth. Stir in vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
4. Make the aioli: In a tall container, combine lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, mustard, egg, salt. Add the oils gently to the container and let them settle to the top. Use immersion blender: start at bottom, blend, slowly raise blender until emulsified. Season to taste.
5. Assemble: Plate potatoes, spoon over salsa, drizzle with aioli, and sprinkle with chives. Serve hot!

Recipe Notes

*Duck fat gives next-level flavour and crunch, but a high smoke point neutral oil like grapeseed or peanut works great too.
**No immersion blender? Use a small food processor or whisk in oil slowly by hand. Or use store-bought mayo and zhuzh it up with garlic and lemon.