As a vegetarian, my options at Spanish tapas restaurants can be limited. However, I can also rely on at least one vegetarian tapas dish no matter where I go – the ubiquitous patatas bravas.
Patatas bravas are fried potato cubes with a spicy sauce. They alone can often be a good meal for me, and I was excited to try my hand at making them when the stars seemed to perfectly align a few weeks back.
The first star moving into place was the Balaboosta cookbook, which I had checked out from my local library on the recommendation of co-workers. The cookbook had a recipe for patatas bravas, with the spin of spicing the potatoes with za'atar. The second star that made this opportunity occur was a friend hosting a housewarming party to which she recommended we bring a "tapas-style" dish.
I decided to take that instruction literally, and off I went preparing patatas bravas. I combined the Balaboosta approach with Serious Eats guidance and some personal health-consciousness to make za-atar spiced, sauteed potatoes with spicy aioli.
I prepared the potatoes by using the Serious Eats technique, but with far less oil. This resulted in me boiling the potato cubes until tender and then lightly browning potatoes on the stove-top instead of frying them.
I probably could have further browned the potatoes by using higher heat or putting them in the oven, but I have to admit, I was a little pressed for time to get to the party!
I then prepared the aioli, using the Serious Eats food processor recommendation and then hand whipping in the olive oil as instructed to avoid bitterness. The aioli took less than a few minutes to make and was so creamy and delicious. I really can't wait to make homemade aioli again – yum!
As a final touch, I improvised some za'atar with sumac, sesame seeds, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
And then I sprinkled the za'atar on top of the potatoes until they tasted nicely seasoned.
The dish was a major success at the party, with the aioli being used to accompany other appetizers. I really look forward to making it again, though I may use some other spices as well, as I found the sumar / za'atar to be slightly sour for my liking.
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