Crispiest Smashed Baby Potatoes w Salsa Verde (old)

PREP TIME: 15mins

COOKING TIME: 50mins

I have made this so many times, it is my easy side ‘go-to’. It is one of those dishes where it doesn’t really matter what else you make this with, these potatoes trumps all.

The first of the organic baby potatoes are appearing and I always feel that it is such a treat.

There are a few ‘rules’ to achieve the ‘crispiest ever’ status so do read through my kitchen note below.

‘Salsa Verde’ in Italian means green sauce and I have incorporated lots of soft fresh herbs from my garden, make your salsa verde your own by incorporating herbs you love to eat.

Serves 4 as a side

Organic & Seasonal: Middle to late January along with baking potatoes too.

Getting Ahead: You can cook the baby potatoes a day before ready for the oven the following day. The salsa verde can be made ahead but might loose its vibrant colour a bit, but it might make up for this in flavour.

Leftovers: It will lose its crispiness once kept in the fridge,  but I still love eating it cold from the fridge, is that normal?

Serving Suggestion:

The salsa verde and the potatoes will go well with anything bbq’d, my meat eating husband loves it over steak and grilled chicken thighs.

 

What you'll need:

Two large baking trays

Large chopping board and good sharp big knife

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 kg baby potatoes
  • extra virgin olive oil (see note)
  • flaky sea salt

Salsa Verde

  • 1 handful basil (leaves only)
  • 1 handful parsley (leaves only, freeze the stalks)
  • 1 handful mint (leaves only)
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon capers (the vinegar ones)
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 pinches salt
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or red wine vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 220c, add your two baking tays to the oven (not oiled yet)
  2. Add your potatoes to a large pan saucepan, fill with cold water and bring to a gentle boil. Boil until the potatoes are soft but still holding their shape. (see note) about 12 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to steam for 5 minutes until cold enough to handle.
  3. Carefully remove the trays from the ovens and add a generous amount of olive oil, a few glugs (to thinly coat the trays), Place the trays back in the oven to heat up the oil.
  4. While the oil heats up, on a large chopping board press the potatoes down individually with your palm, a spatula, a potato masher or even a microplane works well. Don’t worry if some potatoes fall apart, these bits will get really crunchy & they are SO tasty. Repeat until all potatoes are pressed.
  5. Carefully remove the trays from the oven and carefully place the potatoes one by one in the trays, laying in a single layer with lots of room in between them, you should hear a sizzle, if not, place your trays back in the oven (without potatoes) for the oil to heat up.
  6. Once all the potatoes are added to the hot oil, place them back in the oven for 20 minutes.
  7. After 20 minutes, the potatoes should be starting to turn golden (if not, return to the oven), remove from the oven and turn over. Place back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
  8. Lets start chopping your salsa verde. place the herbs on the chopping board and start chopping until roughly chopped and fine (you can keep it ‘chunky’ if you prefer) add the capers and garlic and continue to chop incorporating the capers and garlic into the salsa verde.
  9. Once everything is well combined, add to a pretty bowl, add the zest, lemon juice, mustard and salt and combine, start to drizzle enough olive oil into your salsa to ensure a spoonable consistency.
  10. By now your potatoes should be golden and crispy, carefully remove, drain on kitchen towel if you like (I don’t) and season with the flaked salt.
  11. Arrange the potatoes on a pretty platter and serve alongside the salsa verde.

Happy Summer Food – Enjoy

Kitchen Notes:

Boiling potatoes – you might have noticed that potatoes are all different shapes and sizes which in cooking terms will mean they will cook at different temperatures, smaller being done first and falling apart once the larger potatoes are cooked. In order to prevent this and ensure even cooking we add the potatoes to cold water and we bring that up to the boil, the potatoes will all be soft and ready at the same time. The same will be for all your roots.

Cooking with Olive Oil – one of the first questions I get asked a-lot at my workshops is ‘can I cook with olive oil’ – the answer is YES and indeed you SHOULD!

The smoking point, that point where the structure of the oil changes and it might be harmful to us, is actually quite high. It ranges between 220c-240c. It will be impossible to reach this temperature on the hob and very difficult to reach this in a hot oven with food. Food creates steam which will lower the oven temperature hence the reason that we roast on a high temperature.

For more science on this you can read further here 

Kitchen Story:

Seasonal News: You might find it surprising to know that to grow potatoes organically is quite hard and thus ‘commercial’ potato crops are one of the most heavily sprayed crops.

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