Spanish Tapas: "Patas Bravas" Bold Potatoes

Patatas Bravas is a favorite tapas dish of me and my husband. We have ordered it many times at tapas restaurants and I have made it a few times at home. This is the best recipe I have found for it.

6 potatoes
oil for frying
3/4 cup tomato sauce
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
one clove of garlic, minced
one tablespoon vinegar
one teaspoon Spanish paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

For the sauce combine the tomato sauce, mayonnaise, garlic, vinegar, paprika, cumin and pepper in a small sauce pan. Slowly heat while you prepare the potatoes.

Parboil potaotes. Drain, peel and cut into cubes. Deep-fry or saute in hot olive oil until browned and crisp. Drain and serve immediately sprinkled with salt and drizzled liberally with the spicy sauce.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Mexican "Salsa de Tomatillo y Aguacate"- Avocada and Tomatillo Salsa

I recently purchased a food processor and can now make all kinds of things I was unable to make before. One of the first things I tried with my new food processor was this salsa. It was so easy and delicious. Store bought salsa is definitely a thing of the past!

6 tomatillos, husked and rinsed well
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 serrano chile, stem removed
1 teaspoon salt
1 rice avocado, peeled and cubed

Instructions

Place tomatillos, onion, cilantro, garlic, chile, and salt in a food processor or blender; puree until smooth. Add avocado and puree until smooth. Add a bit of water if needed- salsa should be a little thicker than tomato sauce.

Yield:3 cups

Variation: Try using different kids of peppers. I had jalapenos on hand so I used those instead of serranos. Try adding pineapple to sweeten it up for something different.