Spanish Aperitivo Board with Hot Patatas Bravas

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A full tapas-bar spread you assemble at home: jamón and chorizo, sheep's-milk cheeses, tinned conservas, olives and piquillos — anchored by a skillet of crackling patatas bravas with smoky brava sauce and garlic aioli. Half shopping list, half 30-minute cook, built so the board hits the table hot and generous instead of quietly like a cheese plate.

Ingredients

• 4 oz jamón serrano, thinly sliced
• 4 oz dry-cured Spanish chorizo, sliced on the bias
• 3 oz lomo or salchichón, thinly sliced

• 6 oz Manchego (aged 6–12 months), cut into wedges
• 4 oz Idiazábal or other smoked sheep's-milk cheese
• 4 oz Valdeón or Cabrales blue cheese
• 2 tbsp honey, for drizzling
• 1/3 cup quince paste (membrillo), sliced

• 1 tin good oil-packed tuna belly (ventresca), about 4 oz
• 1 tin boquerones or white anchovies in vinegar, about 3 oz
• 1 tin mussels or cockles in escabeche, about 4 oz
• 1 cup mixed Spanish olives (Gordal, Manzanilla, Arbequina)
• 6 jarred piquillo peppers, drained
• 8 guindilla peppers or cornichons
• 1/2 cup marcona almonds
• 1/2 cup dried Turkish figs or Muscat grapes

• 1 loaf crusty baguette or rustic country bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• 4 oz picos or breadsticks

• 2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp kosher salt, for the boiling water
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 cups neutral oil for frying (canola or sunflower)
• flaky sea salt, to finish
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika (pimentón picante)
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cloves garlic, grated on a Microplane
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 pinch kosher salt

Instructions

1. Make the aioli first so it can sit: whisk the mayonnaise, grated garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes (up to 3 days) so the garlic mellows into the base.
2. Make the brava sauce: heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over medium. Add the onion and cook 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in both paprikas and the flour — off-heat keeps the pimentón from scorching and turning bitter. Return to medium-low, stir in the tomato paste, and cook 1 minute until it darkens slightly.
4. Whisk in the chicken broth in a steady stream, bring to a simmer, and cook 8–10 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon like thin gravy. Stir in the sherry vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then blend smooth with an immersion blender or standard blender. Keep warm, or reheat later with a splash of water.
5. Par-cook the potatoes: bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and the baking soda. Add the potato cubes and boil 6–7 minutes, until a knife slides in with slight resistance at the center. Drain well and spread on a rack or sheet pan for 15 minutes to steam-dry — the roughed-up, dry surface is what makes them crisp.
6. While the potatoes dry, build the board. Set the aioli and brava sauce bowls plus a small empty bowl for olive pits on a large board or platter first, then fan the jamón, chorizo, and lomo in loose folds around them. Place the cheese wedges at the corners with the membrillo and honey beside them.
7. Fill the gaps: turn the tinned tuna, boquerones, and mussels out into small dishes or leave them in their opened tins on the board, then tuck in the olives, piquillos, guindillas, marcona almonds, and dried figs. Leave one clear zone about 8 inches wide for the hot potatoes.
8. Toast the bread: brush the slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and broil or grill 1–2 minutes per side until golden. Rub each hot slice once with the cut garlic clove and pile in a basket alongside the picos.
9. Fry the potatoes: heat 4 cups neutral oil in a deep heavy pot or Dutch oven to 375°F (use a thermometer; keep the oil no more than a third of the way up the pot). Fry the potatoes in two batches, 4–6 minutes per batch, until deep golden and blistered. Drain on a rack and season immediately with flaky sea salt.
10. Pile the hot potatoes into the reserved space on the board or into a shallow bowl. Spoon warm brava sauce over about two-thirds of them, drizzle with aioli, scatter the parsley, and bring the board out right away while the potatoes are still crackling.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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