Wajos Patatas Bravas Dip Seasoning Mix. Tomato, garlic, and chili—spicy and slightly sweet—the seasoning mix that transforms into a dip for sheet-pan potatoes when combined with crème fraîche.
Wajos Patatas Bravas Dip Seasoning Mix is a dry blend of nearly 40 percent tomato flakes, 16 percent garlic, sugar, 11 percent chili, paprika, salt, curry, and olive oil, 90 g from Dohr on the Moselle. This is not a pre-made dip in a jar, a salsa, or a dry potato spice sprinkle, but a seasoning mix that you rehydrate with water and stir into crème fraîche, yogurt, or oil. Contains mustard.
Patatas Bravas Dip Seasoning Mix from Wajos is our go-to for Friday nights when nobody wants to cook anymore. Pop a tray of potato wedges with oil and salt into the oven, let two teaspoons of the mix soak in water, stir it into crème fraîche and yogurt—and by the time the potatoes are browned, there is a red dip on the table that tastes of tomato, garlic, and chili. The kids dip, the adults dip, and the ketchup stays in the fridge. It is our most-purchased Wajos dip.
Tomato and garlic up front, chili for warmth, curry in the background
The mixture is red with light-colored pieces and smells of garlic even while dry. Once mixed, the tomato comes through first, sweet and dense thanks to the tomato flakes, followed by the 16 percent garlic—strong, but rounded rather than raw and sharp. The chili accounts for 11 percent, and you can taste it: a clear, warm heat that lingers in the mouth without chasing anyone away from the table. Curry and paprika lie behind it, providing the depth expected of a Spanish Bravas dip.
To be honest, sugar is the third ingredient: 43 grams per 100 grams of dry mix, part of which comes from the tomato flakes. In the finished dip with crème fraîche and yogurt, this is barely noticeable, but those who try the mix pure will detect the sweetness. Salt is at 5.8 grams per 100 grams—for two teaspoons in a dip, that is quite low, so feel free to add more salt to taste. The mix itself is vegan; when stirred with crème fraîche, the dip becomes a dairy product.
This mix is not suitable for those who want it truly fiery—11 percent chili is tangy rather than burning. In that case, the Patatas Bravas Hot Dip Seasoning Mix with almost three times as much chili is the right choice. And for those expecting something very mild, it is better to reach for a Bruschetta mix.
For oven potatoes, as a marinade, in cream cheese, and on the barbecue platter
The basic method: Stir two teaspoons of the mix with one tablespoon of lukewarm water and let it soak briefly, then stir in three tablespoons of crème fraîche and two tablespoons of yogurt and let sit for ten minutes. This makes the dip for a tray of oven-baked potato wedges, fries, or sweet potatoes. Those who prefer it creamier can use sour cream (Schmand); those who prefer it lighter can use just yogurt.
The mix also works as a marinade with olive oil: combine two tablespoons of mix with four tablespoons of oil to marinate chicken legs, pork neck, or halloumi for an hour, then grill or pan-fry. Vegetables—zucchini, bell peppers, corn on the cob—can take the same marinade. And when stirred into 200 grams of cream cheese, one tablespoon turns it into a spread for dinner bread that tastes like a tapas bar.
The jar is also worthwhile beyond potatoes: try a teaspoon in pasta sauce, chili con carne, or the ground meat mixture for meatballs. Sprinkled over scrambled eggs or an omelet just before they come out of the pan, it provides seasoning that would otherwise require three different spice jars.
The mix is not suitable as a dry seasoning sprinkled onto a finished plate: the tomato flakes need liquid and time, otherwise they remain hard and taste dusty. The prepared dip will keep in the refrigerator for one to two days—yogurt and crème fraîche are the limiting factors.
Our tip: Oven-baked rosemary potato wedges served with this dip and a bowl of Aioli Dip—red and white side by side, just like in Spain—is our meal for football nights.
Blended in Dohr, where Wajos assembles its own dips and spices
The dip seasoning mixes are one of the product groups that Wajos produces itself in Dohr near Cochem on the Moselle—blended in-house and tested in their own laboratory, just like most of their roughly 900 items. Over 80 people work there for a family business that grew out of a winery: Walter Josef Oster, who gave the company its initials, comes from a winemaking family in Ediger-Eller with 15 generations of viticulture and started with liqueurs in the 1980s.
His son Peter Oster and Ulf Schwichtenberg turned it into the Wajos brand starting in the 2000s, with the first store opening in Trier in 2008 and shops now located throughout Germany. That a manufacturer from the Moselle would mix a Spanish potato dip is less far-fetched than it sounds: everyone knows tomato, garlic, and chili, but the balance is the art—and that is perfected in Dohr. Wajos lists the Patatas Bravas Dip as one of its kitchen bestsellers.
The jar for fry nights, barbecue parties, and the pantry
The Patatas Bravas Dip is the jar for everyone who loves oven potatoes and finds ketchup boring, for barbecue nights with many guests, and for families where children join in the dipping—the heat is distinct, but with plenty of yogurt, it is fine for them as well. As a gift, it fits perfectly in a basket with the ready-made Patatas Bravas Sauce and a bottle of olive oil; all dips and rubs can be found on our Wajos page.
Stored in a cool, dark place and tightly sealed, the jar lasts a long time, and 90 grams are enough for about 15 portions of dip. The mix is not suitable for those who avoid mustard—it is in the curry—or for those who dislike sweetness in savory dishes.
Tomato, garlic, and chili, stirred with crème fraîche and yogurt—the dip seasoning mix from the Moselle that turns a tray of potatoes into a meal for us.
