Patatas Bravas

Spanish for "fierce potatoes," patatas bravas are a common tapas offering of crisp potato cubes served with a spicy sauce. If you like fiery food, use one-fourth to one-half teaspoon red pepper in the sauce. For the crispest potatoes, stir only every two or three minutes; frequent stirring can damage them.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup potato mixture and 1/4 cup sauce)

Ingredients

• Potatoes:
• 4  cups  (1-inch) cubed peeled baking potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1  tablespoon  butter
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 
  Sauce:
• 1  teaspoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  diced onion
• 1  cup  diced green bell pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 1  (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• Parsley sprigs (optional)

Preparation

1. To prepare potatoes, place potato in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until crisp-tender; drain well.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and 2 teaspoons oil to pan, swirling to coat bottom of pan; heat 30 seconds or until foam subsides. Add potato to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until browned, stirring twice. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper, and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Remove potato mixture from pan; keep warm.

3. To prepare sauce, heat pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan, swirling to coat; heat 15 seconds. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon red pepper, and tomato sauce; bring to a simmer. Cook 1 minute. Pour onion mixture into a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Serve sauce with potato mixture. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

153 (26% from fat)

Fat:

4.4g (sat 1.6g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

3.5g

Carbohydrate:

26.5g

Fiber:

2.9g

Cholesterol:

5mg

Iron:

1.5mg

Sodium:

416mg

Calcium:

31mg