Patatas alioli is one of the first tapas dishes I fell in love with in Spain. It combines everything I adore about this country's food: it's simple, tasty, and easy to share. It's also low on ingredients and cook time, which makes it a great recipe to have in summer when the heat starts to sap your energy.
If you love Spanish potato recipes, don't miss these great ones for Malaga salad and tortilla with zucchini, leeks, and cheese!
Introduction
If you're a garlic lover, this dish is what you've been looking for your entire life. There's enough garlic here to make a vampire faint, which means that sharing this particular tapas dish is a must! It's a great side dish for meat and fish, and also makes for a great cold appetizer.
Ingredients
Curious what you need to make patatas alioli? Like the best Spanish recipes, you only need a few basic things!
- Potatoes: I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes because they hold their shape when cooked but still are fluffy inside.
- Garlic: There's a lot of garlic in this recipe--which is one of the reasons that this dish is so delicious!
- Olive Oil: Use good quality extra virgin olive oil to make the alioli; the flavor will be amazing.
- Egg Yolk: It's not traditional to add an egg yolk to the alioli, but I like to because it makes it a lot easier to emulsify the sauce.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Patatas Alioli
If you’d like to see the full ingredients and instructions, scroll to the bottom of the post for the printable recipe card.
- Wash the potatoes, then place them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Bring to a soft boil and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. (image 1)
- Let the potatoes cool, then peel them and set aside. (image 2)
- Mash the garlic into a paste, then add an egg yolk and blend lightly with an immersion blender. Very slowly add the olive oil so it emulsifies. (image 3)
- Keep blending until the mixture thickens, then add the lemon juice and mix until combined. (image 4)
- Cut the cooled and peeled boiled potatoes into 1-inch cubes. (image 5)
- Drizzle the potatoes with the garlic alioli. (image 6)
- Toss the potatoes to coat them in the alioli and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. (image 7)
- Enjoy these patatas alioli as a quick, easy summer tapa! (image 8)
Recipe FAQs
Traditional Spanish alioli is made from a mixture of mashed garlic and olive oil. The oil is slowly added to the garlic and is mixed well to emulsify it. The resulting sauce is thick and delicious!
The name aioli is the more common term used by English and French speakers, but the term alioli is the term used in Spain. It's a combination of the word al (garlic) and oli (oil).
Serve
These patatas alioli are perfect on their own as a light meal, but they also are great served with other tapas! Serve with chorizo stuffed mushrooms, Spanish hummus, or meatballs in tomato sauce.
Expert Tips
- I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for my patatas alioli recipe. They're good for frying, and the outside will crisp up nicely while the inside stays fluffy and soft.
- My alioli recipe includes egg, which isn't traditional, strictly speaking. The most basic aliolis just use garlic (al) and olive oil (oli), but I find that adding an egg makes it way easier to emulsify!
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Patatas Alioli Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized potatoes unpeeled
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes, then place them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Boil on high heat, then reduce to a medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Let them cool before peeling (about15 minutes).
- While the potatoes are cooling, make the alioli. Mash the minced garlic into a paste with a mortar and pestle.
- Place the garlic paste and the egg yolk into the container of an immersion blender. Pulse lightly to combine.
- Gradually add the olive oil to the mixture, constantly blending to incorporate it as you pour. The mixture should slowly start to thicken as the oil emulsifies. Once all the oil is combined, add the lemon juice and blend.
- Once the potatoes are cooled and peeled, slice them into 1-inch cubes. Toss them gently to mix them with the alioli.
- Garnish with the chopped parsley and enjoy right away!
Notes
- I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for my patatas alioli recipe. They're good for frying, and the outside will crisp up nicely while the inside stays fluffy and soft.
- My alioli recipe includes egg, which isn't traditional, strictly speaking. The most basic aliolis just use garlic (al) and olive oil (oli), but I find that adding an egg makes it way easier to emulsify!
Nutrition
Photography by Giulia Verdinelli
Chris Nation
It so happens I have just this second sat down from draining a load of spuds, ready to make a spuds salad, to read the latest Sp Sabs email . Timely suggestion to do it 'alioli'. I'll go for it.
I am a great fan of the Spanish deli, Garcia's, in London's famous Portobello Rd. It's on the right, just before the motorway bridge, at the top end of the fruit and veg section of the market, after all the antigue and knick-knack stalls. They expanded to make a cafe next door. If you close your eyes and take a whiff, it's like Scotty has beamed you to Spain.
Many years ago I went in there to buy a jar of alioli. I was advised not to bother with the stuff in a jar. "Use a good quality mayo and just add garlic to taste". Garcia's accountants would not be pleased to hear them give that sort of advice, but I have done so ever since, usually adding pimenton picante - a sort of bravas touch. I shall fling in a load of capers, too.
There's no contest between bravas and the alioli salad. They are even-Stevens. You choose one or the other depending on the weather, amongst other things. Perhaps alioli salad on a summer lunchtime, bravas definitely for tapas outdoors, wrapped up against a chilly winter night.