The smashed potato is what happens when you boil a baby potato until fluffy, squash it flat with the bottom of a glass, drown it in olive oil and roast it until it is a crunchy disc with the soft middle still intact.
Why you are cooking this tonight
The smashed potato is what happens when you boil a baby potato until fluffy, squash it flat with the bottom of a glass, drown it in olive oil and roast it until it is a crunchy disc with the soft middle still intact. It is the best potato side you can make from a bag of kipflers or chats that are hanging around in the bottom of the fridge.
Sour cream and chives on top turn this into an actual dish. Without them, still good. With, you have the side that sits on every roast table, every barbecue plate, every Sunday lunch.
Notes on method
Don’t oversmash – you want the potato to stay together. Salt the boiling water generously. The oven has to be hot; 220 is minimum. If they are not crunchy after 25 min, give them another 10.
What to pour with it
With steak or grilled chicken, Yarra chardonnay or a McLaren Vale grenache. For cocktails, a Moscow Mule for a backyard dinner.
Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambery
Cold vermouth with a lemon twist while the potatoes finish.
Read more →
The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 220°C fan-forced. Line a tray with baking paper.
- Put potatoes in a pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil, simmer 15-18 minutes until a knife slides in easily.
- Drain and spread on the tray. Let them steam dry for 2 minutes.
- Use the bottom of a glass or a small plate to gently flatten each potato to about 2cm thick - cracked but still holding together.
- Drizzle generously with olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper.
- Roast 30 minutes without touching until golden brown and crunchy.
- Mix sour cream with lemon zest and half the chives and parsley.
- Plate potatoes. Dollop sour cream mixture in the middle, scatter with the remaining herbs. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Two things that go wrong
You boiled the potatoes too soft.
If they fall apart when you press them, they’re past it. The boil should leave them just-tender, a knife slides in but they hold their shape. About 15-18 minutes for chats, less for smaller. Drain hard and let them steam dry for 2 minutes before smashing.
Your oven wasn’t hot enough.
Crispy needs heat. 220°C fan-forced minimum. Anything less and you get pale, soft potatoes. Preheat the tray with the oven if you can, the moment the oily potatoes hit hot metal is when the crust starts.
Variations worth knowing
Garlic and rosemary
Tuck a few crushed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs around the potatoes before they go in the oven. Crisp the garlic at the end and scatter over.
Parmesan crust
Sprinkle finely grated parmesan over the potatoes for the last 10 minutes of roasting. Forms a salty cheese tile on top.
Korean-style
Drizzle the cooked potatoes with gochujang mixed with honey, butter, and sesame oil. Top with sesame seeds and spring onion.
Leftovers and make ahead
Smashed potatoes are best fresh but reheat surprisingly well. Spread leftovers on a tray, drizzle with extra oil, and blast at 220°C for 8-10 minutes until crispy again. They’ll be 90% as good. Cold ones make a great breakfast hash with a fried egg.
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