The sun finally poked its head out. Once the rain stopped and the clouds drifted off, I noticed just how long the days had become. The sun streams through the windows long into the evening, the windowpanes casting dramatic shadows and patches of sun for the cats to curl up in. And the long winter is finally over. The sun came back to Southern California and will stick around until October.

These past few weeks, I've been searching for inspiration. Flipping through old cookbooks, scrolling through posts I had planned months ago and lists of fresh produce I might've found at the farmers' market. So much of what I'd planned was based on seasonal produce. So much relied on access to farmers' markets. 

We started ordering a weekly box of California-grown produce to supplement our pantry goods. Every week something new pops up - produce that's just come into season. At the top of my list was rhubarb, which miraculously appeared on the lineup last week. I added spring onions this week, dandelion greens for next week, hoping that rare bit of produce would spark something. 

This small taste of tapas came from a browse through José Andrés's Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America, and craving for those little Spanish plates we only have at restaurants. Patatas Bravas and simple roasted onions with toasty bread to sop up the sauces, along with an aioli made the traditional way because I have the time now! Possibly the most gratifying part of this tapas-making process was seeing the aioli come to life. The fact that a few cloves of garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt, a healthy amount of elbow grease can transform into such a silky sauce was enough to spark that bit motivation. 

Maybe it seems like quite a few steps, but most of it is assembly, getting the ingredients and sauces together. The only thing that takes a lot of attention is frying the potatoes, a process that I've come to enjoy. Plus, I miss fries too much to be mad at the mess. After that, it's just sitting down to a late afternoon lunch, soaking up the joy of my efforts. 

The onions were a salty, caramelized addition, letting the mild onions glow while soaking up all of the sauces from the Patatas Bravas. The bit of toasty bread came from a batch of my dad's ongoing sourdough project. There's something so gratifying about pulling apart layers of roasted onion, enjoying the meal you've made from scratch. A little note about the onions: I left the roots and the outer layer of skin on so that the onions would hold their shape. You can serve whole, and cut the roots and skin off when you're ready to eat. I don't know why, but I thought it was a really fun way to eat.  

Patatas Bravas with Roasted Spring onions

Ingredients

For the Roasted Spring Onions

• 6 - 8 spring onions, halved lengthwise

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• generous pinch of salt

For the Patatas Bravas

• 1 lb Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes, soaked in cold water before frying

• canola oil for frying

• salt to finish

For the Aioli

• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• pinch of salt

For the Brava Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, pureed and strained

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

• 2 teaspoon sherry vinegar

• pinch of salt, to taste

Method

Start by making the Aioli

1. Put the smashed garlic cloves and salt in a mortar and pestle. Mash the garlic with the pestle until the garlic turns into a smooth paste. Add the lemon juice to the garlic and stir to combine.

2. While stirring and mashing the garlic mixture, slowly start to add the olive oil, letting the garlic absorb the the olive oil before adding more. Keep adding the olive oil until the aioli thickens into a smooth sauce. Let sit and mellow while preparing the rest of the meal.

Then make the brava sauce

1. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 tbsp of olive oil over low heat. Add the tomato puree, bay leaf, sugar, cayenne and paprika. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce reduces and thickens. Add the sherry vinegar and salt to taste, then remove from heat. Reheat just before serving.

For the Roasted Spring Onions and Patatas Bravas

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Lay the spring onions on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping the onions halfway through, until tender and caramelized.

2. While the onions are roasting, start heating up the oil for frying. In a deep saucepan, heat up 3 inches of oil to 275ºF. Poach the potatoes, gently frying until soft in the center. Drain and set aside.

3. Raise the oil temperature to 350ºF. Fry the potatoes until golden and crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess oil with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt while they are hot.

   Top the patatas bravas with the brava sauce and aioli and serve alongside roasted spring onions.