Smashed Potatos
Crunchy and delicious.
Smashed Potatos are a brilliant alternative to fried or baked potatoes. The best of both worlds: Crispy and full of flavor. But they do need a little attention during preparation. And it’s not without violence either.
Preparation time
20 minutes
Baking time
30 – 45 minutes
Servings
for 2 persons
Ingredients
- ½ kilo potatoes (small and floury)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
Preparation
Smashed Potatos …
… are very easy to prepare.
Preheat the oven to 200°C top/bottom heat – or ideally to 180°C convection oven.
Cook the potatoes unpeeled in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes.
Now and then prick them – if they offer almost no resistance, then they are just right.
Meanwhile, chop the garlic. If you like, you can also cut a toe into thin slices, that looks quite pretty afterwards.
Put olive oil in pan – add garlic and heat.
Careful, we don’t want to burn our garlic – then it becomes bitter. Beautiful golden it should be. So stand next to it and watch the temperature.
Pass garlic and oil through a sieve. While doing so, collect the deliciously flavored oil in a small bowl, or whatever you have on hand. Set both aside.
If you haven’t gotten around to it yet – drain the potatoes now, let them steam for a few minutes, then peel.
Spread baking paper on baking sheet. Spread potatoes on top – leave enough space between them.
So – and now we come to the fun part of the whole affair:
The potatoes become smashed potatoes ….
Reach for something solid that you can use to vigorously pound the potatoes. You may have a meat mallet that you use to pound your cutlets flat. But a jam jar or anything comparable will do. I smash with the flat hand …
So: Strike boldly. Now you will also realize why you should use floury potatoes – they simply smash better than the firm-cooking ones … However, they are not so easy to get anymore, the firm-cooking ones seem to have prevailed, at least with me in the west of Hamburg.
Important: We do NOT want mashed potatoes. So a little restraint with all the childish zeal is called for. The result of your “brawl” should be coherent potato clumps about 1 to 2 cm high. If you do overdo it a bit and crumble the potatoes too much – it’s not a big deal – just press them back together into something cohesive, because that just looks better on the plate later.
Brush the flavored oil over the potatoes and scatter the chopped/sliced garlic over the top. Do not be stingy with oil and garlic. More is simply more here …
Salt the potatoes.
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Then put it in the oven.
If you feel like it, now you can also start cleaning your kitchen a little – potato mud on walls and co 🙂
Look in your oven every once in a while. Is everything developing according to your wishes? Sniff a little: roast aromas and garlic scents … But be patient: depending on the oven and your favorite browning degree, it now takes about 30 to 45 min. But I can promise you one thing, it’s worth it.
Bon appétit.
