Salsa Brava Madrileña

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •1-litre light-coloured saucepan
• •Small balloon whisk
• •Fine-mesh sieve, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Warm the broth

   Warm the chicken stock in a small pan or jug until it feels hot but is not boiling. Warm stock joins the flour base smoothly; cold stock tightens it at once and leaves you chasing lumps.

   Use light, unsalted stock. A dark roasted stock muddies the pimentón red and makes the sauce taste more of meat than pepper.
2. 2

   Toast the flour

   Put the olive oil and flour in a light-coloured saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping into the corners, until the mixture is smooth, pale straw-coloured, and smells faintly of toasted biscuit rather than raw flour. Do not let it turn brown.

   A pale pan lets you see the colour changing. Pésalo, no lo adivines: too much flour makes a paste, while too little leaves a watery sauce.
3. 3

   Bloom the pimentón

   Take the saucepan off the heat and wait 30 seconds. Add both pimentóns and whisk for no more than 10 seconds, just until the oil turns a deep brick red and the pepper smells warm and sweet. Do not put the pan back over the heat yet. Pimentón burns quickly, and burnt pimentón stays bitter.

4. 4

   Whisk in broth

   Pour in about 100ml of the warm stock in a thin stream, whisking without stopping until you have a smooth red paste. Add the remaining stock in three additions, whisking each one smooth before the next. Return the pan to low heat and hold it at a gentle simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon but still pours freely.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Whisk in the sherry vinegar and salt, then simmer for 1 final minute. The finished sauce should fall from the spoon in a broad ribbon and slowly level itself in the bowl. If it is too thick, whisk in 15ml warm water at a time. Pass it through a fine sieve only if you have lumps, then spoon it warm over freshly fried potatoes.

Chef Tips

• •Buy pimentón from a shop with good turnover and smell it when you open the tin. It should smell clearly of dried pepper, with smoke if it is from La Vera. A dusty jar that has sat open for years gives colour and very little else.
• •If you cannot find pimentón picante, use 12g pimentón dulce in total and add 0.5g cayenne. Cayenne gives a narrower, sharper heat, so the sauce loses some of the round dried-pepper flavour, but it remains a sensible substitute.
• •Vegetable stock works in place of chicken stock. Choose a pale one without tomato; the finished sauce will taste a little leaner and sweeter.
• •Do not repair this with tomato paste or ketchup. That makes a different red sauce and covers the pimentón instead of carrying it.
• •For outdoor eating, transport the sauce and potatoes separately and spoon the sauce over at the table. Dress them too early and the potatoes lose their crisp edges.
• •Serve patatas bravas with a small caña of beer or a glass of red vermouth, tal como se hace allí.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the sauce up to 3 days ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate; press reusable wrap against the surface if you want to prevent a skin.
• •Reheat over the lowest heat, whisking in 15 to 30ml water as needed. Use water rather than extra stock so you do not disturb the seasoning already in the sauce.
• •Measure the flour and the two pimentóns into separate bowls before cooking. Do not combine them in advance because the flour needs several minutes in the oil and the pimentón needs only seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)