Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Crispy... Tasty... Simple... Some of my favorite words. I have been seeing this on American Test Kitchen and several different Food Network shows. It looked like my type of recipe.

The basic idea is to boil some smaller potatoes in salt water until soft. About 30 minutes. Smash them on a oiled pan, top with oil, salt, pepper and anything else you want. Then bake them at a relatively high temp until browning  and crunchy. About 20 minutes. Your basic 2/10 skill level.


I started by reading many recipes. I'll pick a Pioneer Woman recipe as the inspiration but really it could have been any of 3 or 4.

Rating

This is a solid 4.

Notes:
 I will be doing this again many times. Tonight I have some bacon in the fridge and I'm making "loaded smashed potatoes" with bacon and cheese. I ended up baking at 400 degrees since I was doing other baking. It took 30 minutes to finish. I used my 7:2:1 seasoning for that garlic taste. Of course scale to the amount you need.

In a pan big enough to hold the amount of potatoes you want, add water and some salt. Here I have 3-4 cups of water, I added 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil over high heat.

Scrub some smaller potatoes. These are about 1 1/2 inch red potatoes.

Add the potatoes to the water. Be sure you cover the potatoes with the water.

Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until "fork tender". This is when you can stick it with a fork and meet only a little resistance and it comes out easily.  Preheat oven to 450.

Add olive oil to a nonstick baking pan with an edge. Use enough to have it "pool" a little not just coat. Add the potatoes and "smash" to about 1/2 inch thick. I used a potato masher but the bottom of a large glass would work also.

Brush top with more olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and anything else you want. I used my 7-2-1 seasoning mix which also has garlic in it.

Bake until brown and crisp. About 20-25 minutes.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

by DrDan at 101 Cooking for Two July-4-2012

An easy potato side dish. The basic idea is to boil some smaller potatoes in salt water until soft. About 30 minutes. Smash them on a oiled pan, top with salt, pepper and anything else you want. Then bake them at a relatively high temp until browning and crunchy. About 20 minutes. Your basic 2/10 skill level. Scale to the amount you need.

Ingredients

• 4 1 1/2 inch red potatoes
• olive oil
• salt and water
• 7:2:1 or 7:2:2 seasoning (or kosher salt and pepper)

Instructions

1) In a pan big enough to hold the amount of potatoes you want, add water and some salt. I had 3-4 cups of water, I added 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.2) Scrub some smaller potatoes. I used 1 1/2 inch red potatoes.3) Add the potatoes to the water. Be sure you cover the potatoes with the water.4) Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes until "fork tender". This is when you can stick it with a fork and meet only a little resistance and it comes out easily. Preheat oven to 450.5) Add olive oil to a nonstick baking pan with an edge. Use enough to have it "pool" a little not just coat. Add the potatoes and "smash" to about 1/2 inch thick. I used a potato masher but the bottom of a large glass would work also.6) Brush top with more olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and anything else you want. I used my 7-2-1 seasoning mix which also has garlic in it.7) Bake until brown and crisp. About 20-25 minutes.

Details

Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 25 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 4 servings

Updated

July 4 2012

DrDan