Menu Item Monday today is a simple recipe for a side dish: Smashed Baby Potatoes. With Pinterest again as my inspiration, I cooked the Mister up a pretty simple meal of steak, steamed broccoli, and potatoes. But I didn't want just ANY old potatoes. I wanted fancy ones! So I followed this two part idea of boiling the potatoes first to cook them, then cooking them a second time in the oven to get them brown and crispy. I was sort of hoping they would be like tater tots?
First up, boil those baby potatoes in a pot of salted water. You could probably use new (red) baby potatoes for this as well. My potatoes were all probably no bigger than 1-2" in diameter. I boiled them for about 12 minutes. Once the potatoes are boiled, carefully drain them, then roll them around in some olive oil and salt/pepper to coat them. I used a chipotle olive oil, which added a nice subtle smoky, spicy flavor from my local favorite, The Filling Station.
Once the potatoes are coated, throw them out onto a baking sheet, and get out your potato smasher (or a fork will do in a pinch as well). Smash away!
Now that the potatoes are smashed and arranged, throw them into a 425 degree F oven for about 10-15 minutes. If you want, you can add just a little spray of olive oil or butter over the tops of the potatoes to help them brown up. If it doesn't seem like the potatoes are crisping enough, feel free to throw them under the broiler as well. I being as impatient as I was, didn't wait quite long enough, so the potatoes are not as crispy as I would have liked.
Verdict? One and a half thumbs up. I have to make this recipe again to perfect it, but the concept and taste of the potatoes was great, and was definitely more fun for a weeknight dinner than your average baked potato.
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