When I was at the Goucher's Farm Market with my sister one day last week, I noticed they had the most beautiful red potatoes. I could not resist buying myself a small bag!
They were beautifully red in color and just the right size for boiling. I adore boiled potatoes. But then again, I adore potatoes in any way shape or form! I am a potato-holic!
I don't share a lot of side dishes here on The English Kitchen and I am not sure why that is. I often think that the side dishes are the real stars of any dinner!
What is a great production in the theatre without the audience, and what is a tasty main dish without great support on the side lines. We need each other! Side dishes that complement the main are a very important part of any meal!
This was a first time for me making smashed potatoes. Oh, I have made roasted crispy smashed potatoes before. They are lovely.
All crispy edged and buttery. A real delight to eat, and adaptable to many flavors.
These smashed potatoes are of a different genre of smashed potatoes. These are like a smashed mashed potato, meant to be rustic and creamy all at the same time.
I have seen these before many times, but thought it was about time I tried them for myself, and am I ever glad that I did! These are fabulous!
To be honest I never thought that potato skins would work in mashed potatoes, or lumps. That is not the mashed potatoes I grew up with, although I have long had an affection for potato skins.
For me the skin is almost the best part of the potato, especially if it is buttery and crisp, but I wasn't sure about the skins in a pot of mash. I grew up thinking that if you had skins left in your mashed potatoes you had done a very bad job of peeling and mashing them! haha
Trust me when I tell you that in this fabulous side dish they totally work. Not only do they add color and texture, but they add fiber and nutrition!
This is quite honestly an excellent side dish that I would even serve to company or on a special occasion such as an Anniversary or even Valentines day! I adapted the recipe from an ATK cookbook entitle The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE RUSTIC SMASHED RED POTATOES
Its a very simple list of a very few simple ingredients. There is nothing outlandish here.
- 12 ounces (340g) small red potatoes, unpeeled
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 3 TBS cream cheese, softened
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 TBS minced chives or spring onion
I used the smallest potatoes in my bag of red potatoes. Not one was more than about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I think these are the size which would work best in this recipe.
Why break the bay leaf in half? I was taught that this helps to release all the flavors of the bay leaf and imparts important oils into the dish you are cooking.
Because you will be using some of the potato water to flavor the potatoes at the end, making sure you eke out as much flavor from the bay leaf as possible is important!
HOW TO MAKE RUSTIC SMASHED RED POTATOES
It only looks complicated. Its really very simple, but if you follow each step in the order given and with exactness your potatoes will be exquisite!
First start off with really clean potatoes. Even though your potatoes might look clean, do give them a good scrub in some clean water, and pick out any eyes, etc.
Place the potatoes, along with 1 tsp salt and the bay leaf into a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water to top up by 1 inch. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are fork tender. (This will take 10 to 15 minutes.)
Drain well reserving 1/2 cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Return the saucepan to the residual heat of the burner and shake the potatoes to dry them out. (About 2 minutes.)
- Whisk the softened cream cheese together with the melted butter and 2 TBS of the potato water until smooth and amalgamated. Stir in 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper along with the chives/spring onions.
Break the potatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon, smashing just enough to break the skins.
Fold in the cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid had been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain.
If desired, you can add the remaining potato water, 1 TBS at a time to loosen them up a bit. I did not have to do this as mine were perfect just as they were. (Note, they will thicken upon standing.)
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Moist low starch red potatoes are the best to use in this recipe, although you can use white potatoes in their place. They will lack that nice pop of red color, but will still taste fabulous!
Try not to worry/mash the potatoes too much. You want to leave plenty of texture. Add the potato water helps to prevent the potatoes from becoming glue-like on cooling.
This is a real danger with small newer potatoes. I remember early in my culinary journey trying to make mashed potatoes with new potatoes and what I ended up with was a pot of glue. Not appealing in the least to make a long story short!
These are quite simply wonderful. I cannot imagine anything that they wouldn't go with, and in fact they are delicious all on their own!
I enjoyed them with a mix of grilled chicken and broccoli florets. Very yummy indeed. I can imagine they would be fabulous with a nice grilled steak for a special occasion!
I really hope that you will give them a go!
Rustic Smashed Red Potatoes
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min
These are quite simply delicious. Easy to make and a little bit special. They would make a fabulous side dish for Valentines day for those who are making a special meal for the one that they love.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340g) small red potatoes, unpeeled
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf, broken in half
- 3 TBS cream cheese, softened
- 1 TBS butter, melted
- 1 TBS minced chives or spring onion
Instructions
- Place the potatoes, along with 1 tsp salt and the bay leaf into a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water to top up by 1 inch. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the potatoes are fork tender. (This will take 10 to 15 minutes.)
- Drain well reserving 1/2 cup (120ml) of the cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Return the saucepan to the residual heat of the burner and shake the potatoes to dry them out. (About 2 minutes.)
- Whisk the softened cream cheese together with the melted butter and 2 TBS of the potato water until smooth and amalgamated. Stir in 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper along with the chives/spring onions.
- Break the potatoes up with the back of a wooden spoon, smashing just enough to break the skins. Fold in the cream cheese mixture until most of the liquid had been absorbed and chunks of potatoes remain.
- If desired, you can add the remaining potato water, 1 TBS at a time to loosen them up a bit. I did not have to do this as mine were perfect just as they were. (Note, they will thicken upon standing.)
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.
Thanks very much for visiting today. Do come again!
Rick loves potatoes much more than I do -- this would be a good way to ramp them up!
ReplyDeleteIf he likes potatoes he will really love these Jeanie! Two thumbs up! xoxo
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