Loaded Smashed Potatoes

It's that time of year again where the waistline took a beating and we are talking all sorts of nonsense about giving up drink, throwing a small fortune at gym memberships and private trainers!!  Well, aside from that it's also NFL playoffs and that means people like me are throwing the resolutions out the window, stocking up on beer and continuing to demolish (as my 3yr old stated the other day when she at a bowl of fries!) food.  This plate/trough/platter of loaded smashed potatoes with jalapeno, bacon, corn etc is just the thing to continue the gluttony of food that you ate throughout December!

Don't you just want to demolish these guys yourself?  Granted they are a little hot straight from the oven but boy are they good.  If you don't go the route of adding all the game day loaded smashed potato toppings then these guys are done as soon as you remove them from the oven.  PERFECT with steak, DELICIOUS with a Sunday roast and EXCELLENT on the outdoor table with your grilled meat.

Smashed Potatoes & How To Make Em

These guys are genius and pretty darn simple too.  The link to my previous recipe is HERE but for those too lazy to click through I'll give you a little background info and how to make em.  Plus there are a few variations so best you read on.

Basically it start with the humble potato.

What Potatoes?

The beauty of this dish is any type of potato will work.  Having made them multiple times with different toppings I have found that quite often smaller gold ball sized potatoes work best.  Typically these guys have more red/yellow skin and hold their shape a little better.  Don't get me wrong, larger fluffier potatoes work a treat too but they don't hold their shape as well.  My last post I used large russet potatoes that i had to cut to size.  I really liked how they turned out as they were so fluffy on the inside and tons of crispy crunchy corners to enjoy but for this recipe I'm loving baby red royales.

Boil

Step 1 in making loaded smashed potatoes is to boil them.  Fill up a large pot of heavily salted water and boil them.  Depending upon the potato you use you may need to cut them so they are similar sized BUT always leave the skin on or else they will just call apart once smashed.  The trick here is once boiled and drained you need to leave the potatoes alone to release the steam.  Releasing the steam is essential to fluffy and crispy potatoes

Smashing & Baking

Line a baking sheet with parchment/baking paper and heat up that oven to 180c / 360f.  Once the potatoes have done their thing steaming then lay them out on the baking sheet.  Don't crowd them as they need room to breath!!  Now for the fun bit  - SMASH EM!!  Use a fork, potato masher, a small saucepan or heck even your fist although tbh that's a little weird!  Smash them gently so they flatten out and you are left with bits of the fluffy interior on display.  Drizzle the potatoes with oil & butter and season them with garlic, salt & pepper and into the oven they go.  Lots of recipes just call for oil but I can't resist adding some melted garlic butter to mine to make them extra healthy and crispy!

Toppings

The beauty of these potatoes - much like large format baked potatoes is you can lob just about anything on them and they will be delish.  For the purpose of NFL playoffs I've gone with loaded smashed potatoes.  That means  WAY too many toppings and loads of mess but would you have it any other way?  Grill up some corn, slice some jalapeno, clean and tear up coriander and chop some spring onions too.  Wait, hold up bacon, make sure there is bacon!!  Get yourself a handful of slices of streaky and fry or grill em up.

Plating Loaded Smashed Potatoes

Let's face it.  We aren't going for finesse or tweezers on this one so just go to town.  I start with a little sour cream that I had mixed with lime and then threw on some corn, spring onions, jalapenos and bacon and to finish it off a fancy sprinkle of coriander.  Job done!

Smashed Potato Sauce Alternatives

So let's just pretend for a second you don't want to add all those ridiculously good toppings and are looking for an alternative to dip these crunchy delights into then no stress here are some alternative sauces on my site - click through and get going.

Chipotle Aioli

Miso Aioli

Tomato Chili Jam

Sriracha Honey Aioli

Basil Miso Aioli

Roasted Tomato Chutney

Can I Fry Smashed Potatoes?

Camping and don't have an oven or you want them cooked a little quicker then frying will also work.  You want to use a heavy bottom pan - like a cast iron.  Add oil to pan and cook on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes and then flip and continue to cook.  I would add the butter in at the end if at all.  Adding the butter at the beginning will only burn it in the time the potatoes take to cook.

Happy Cooking and Happy Eating Friends!!