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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Roasted Smashed Potatoes

These are powerfully addictive... somewhat like eating a much loved potato skin appetizer, but with much more heft!  There's a creamy inner potato with a perfectly crisp outer skin... all topped off with some of the best goodies on the planet - sour cream, crisp smokey bacon, and young, tender green onions! 
The other thing that I haven't mentioned yet, is that these are ridiculously easy!  You just boil, smash, roast, top!  That's it!

I wanted to see which type of potatoes would be the best for this application, so I got a pack that contained three types - red, purple, and gold.  Of course I gave them a quick bath first.
Cover the potatoes with a couple of inches of water and bring to a boil.  Boil the potatoes until they are just fork tender.
While they are boiling, crisp up some bacon.  Cut the bacon into 1/2" strips and crisp in a pan. 
When crisp, remove the bacon to a paper towel covered plate and reserve the bacon fat.
Transfer the fork tender potatoes to a pan and smash them gently.   Just FYI - the gold variety performed the best as far as not crumbling and maintaining the shape that I wanted.
Pour the bacon grease (yes... yes) over the potatoes and spread with a pastry brush or your fingers.  If you don't quite have enough, supplement with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Season the potatoes with ample salt and pepper.
Roast uncovered at 450 degrees F for another 30 - 35 minutes.  The grease will make them brown so nicely.... the skin will get all crispy... and the "meat" of the potatoes will still be lovely and creamy!
Top the potatoes with sour cream, the crispy bacon strips, and some fresh green onions!  Betcha can't eat just one!

Written Method:

The other thing that I haven't mentioned yet, is that these are ridiculously easy!  You just boil, smash, roast, top!  That's it!

I wanted to see which type of potatoes would be the best for this application, so I got a pack that contained three types - red, purple, and gold.  Of course I gave them a quick bath first.

Cover the potatoes with a couple of inches of water and bring to a boil.  Boil the potatoes until they are just fork tender.

While they are boiling, crisp up some bacon.  Cut the bacon into 1/2" strips and crisp in a pan. 

When crisp, remove the bacon to a paper towel covered plate and reserve the bacon fat.

Transfer the fork tender potatoes to a pan and smash them gently.   Just FYI - the gold variety performed the best as far as not crumbling and maintaining the shape that I wanted.

Pour the bacon grease (yes... yes) over the potatoes and spread with a pastry brush or your fingers.  If you don't quite have enough, supplement with a little extra virgin olive oil.  Season the potatoes with ample salt and pepper.

Roast uncovered at 450 degrees F for another 30 - 35 minutes.  The grease will make them brown so nicely.... the skin will get all crispy... and the "meat" of the potatoes will still be lovely and creamy!

Top the potatoes with sour cream, the crispy bacon strips, and some fresh green onions!  Betcha can't eat just one!

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