Patatas bravas

Jaleo--a local chain around DC-- used to serve this dish up as chunks of tomatoes, with tomato sauce and garlic aioli. Lately, though they've changed the recipe, so now it's potato chips with the same sauces. While, the new version is good, it's not exactly what I LOVE. So, here's my take on that recipe. It's really 3 easy recipes in 1. Once you make these you'll want to eat the whole bowl. I usually serve this with roasted asparagus, or salad, or even a couple of cheeses & bread.

Patatas Bravas:
Roasted potatoes
1 1/2 lbs of potatoes (I used some colorful fingerlings)
2 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Aioli:
1 head of garlic
2 T olive oil divided
2/3 c. prepared mayo
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

1 c. of romesco sauce http://econkitchenchicks.blogspot.com/2009/08/back-from-hiatus.html, warmed through.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

1. Slice the head of garlic in half across the equator. Drizzle with a glug of olive oil and wrap in foil and place in the oven. (you can do this ahead of time)
2. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks (somewhat a little bigger than 1")
3. Place the potatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with 2 T of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Toss with your fingers to get the potatoes coated with the olive oil
4. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes, giving the potatoes a toss about 1/2 way through.
5. After the garlic has spent about 30 minutes in the oven, it should be nice and honey-golden colored. If' it's still pale looking, let it go a little longer.
6. One the garlic has cooled to the touch, squeeze out the roasted cloves and combine with mayo, 1 T olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. I sometimes use a food processor, or sometimes I just mash it all up with a fork. Do whatever feels easiest.
7. Once the potatoes have gone for 30 minutes, check to make sure they have a nice brown color on them. If not, let them go a couple more minutes... This will be a personal call. I like my potatoes really crispy.
8. Assemble. Place potatoes on bottom, spoon over the romesco sauce, and dot with your aioli.
9. Enjoy!

Back from hiatus

I have been somewhat remiss in posting things here. I could blame vacation, but that was nearly a month ago now, so I guess it will be down-right laziness.

In June (yeah, that long ago) I had the ladies over for our supper club and served up a spinach-lemon paella and roasted asparagus with romesco sauce.

Romesco is quite possibly my new favorite thing. This sauce is good on so many things. It would do well on any roasted veggie (think asparagus, potatoes, summer squash). It's also really great with a fried egg.

There are as many recipes for romesco sauce as there are for chocolate chip cookies, but the version I made did a combo of several versions I saw online. The key ingredients are: roasted red peppers, nuts, bread, and smoked spanish paprika (also called pimenton). If you've never had smoked Spanish paprika, you really should try it. It imparts just a slight smoky-sweet flavor to whatever you put it in. A little does go a long way, so proceed cautiously your first time using it.

Romesco sauce
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 tomato, diced
2-3 slices of stale french bread
4-5 roasted red peppers, blackened skin and seeds removed
1/2 c. almonds, lightly toasted
1-2 Tblsp. smoked Spanish paprika
Olive oil

1. Heat 3 T. Olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat.
2. Add garlic cloves whole to the skillet.
3. When the garlic cloves start to turn golden brown, remove from pan to a food processor or blender.
4. Add the diced tomato to the skillet and cook until softened (2-3 minutes) and then moved to the food processor.
5. Add the French bread to the skillet. Cook until both sides of the bread are golden brown and move bread and remaining olive oil to the food processor.
6. Add remaining ingredients (except olive oil) to the food processor.
7. As you blend, stream in about 1/4 c. of olive oil or until the mixture has a slightly smooth texture. Taste, and adjust the salt and smoked paprika.

You don't want it super-smooth, just smooth enough so that you can see tiny bits of the almonds.

Enjoy!