What's On the Side: Pan-Roasted Smashed Potatoes

Alright, confession time. I completely intended to replicate Giada's fried smashed potato recipe (linked below). However, when it came time to smash the potatoes, rather than ending up with perfectly round, but-still-mostly-together potato discs, I ended up with bits of potato flying hither and thither. Perhaps I underestimated my potato-smashing strength? Whatever the case, even after trying to smoosh them back into shape in the frying pan, flipping them over just revealed what a terrible mess that I had made.

In a moment of frustration I kind of angrily stabbed at the potatoes with my spatula, and voila! Pan-roasted smashed potatoes were born. I tweaked the "dressing" recipe a bit, adding in some more herbs and a little bit of Dijon mustard to give it a more substantial feel. The lemon-herb combination, made just a tad zesty with the Dijon mustard, really helps to make these smashed potatoes that much more interesting (and tasty). Lesson learned: sometimes smashing things to smithereens is the right answer. Well, in some cases, anyway.

Pan-Roasted Smashed Potatoes (printer-friendly version)
makes 4-6 servings

Potatoes:
6 medium-sized Yukon gold or red potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from one lemon
zest from one lemon
1/2 teaspoon (heaping) chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, and reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. Let the potatoes simmer until they are fork tender, 20-25 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, put together the vinaigrette. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Once the potatoes have cooked, remove them from the water and let them cool for about five minutes. Once cooled, lightly smash each potato by hand.
4. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and saute until fragrant and lightly browned, 30-60 seconds. Remove the garlic from the oil and discard. Add in the smashed potatoes and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 5-7 minutes. Flip each potato and cook until lightly browned on the other side. Use the bottom edge of your spatula to smash the potatoes until they resemble coarsely-mashed potatoes. Cook for an additional 5-7 minutes, or until evenly browned (or the potatoes reach your preferred level of crispiness). Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the vinaigrette, evenly coating the potatoes. Serve immediately.

Another variation:
Instead of adding the vinaigrette, after smashing the potatoes, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

 (inspired by this Giada De Laurentiis recipe)

What's On the Side: Mashed Potatoes

Whenever roast chicken is on the menu, you can be assured that mashed potatoes will also be on the table at my house. For our Thanksgiving meal, I opted to follow a recipe to make "Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes." This recipe called for both Yukon Gold and Sweet Potatoes. I used Wisconsin-grown organic Creamy Gold potatoes and organic jewel sweet potatoes. However, my mashed potatoes lacked the two-tone coloration as my sweet potatoes were decidedly not orange on the inside. Regardless of their lack of orange pigmentation, they still added plenty of sweet potato flavor to the dish. I think the real highlight of this recipe is the addition of buttermilk, a smidgen of Greek yogurt, and a smattering of onion powder. I think this will be my go-to mashed potato recipe from here on out -- and I can assure you that they are just as good when just one type of potato is used, too.

Mashed Potatoes (printer-friendly version)
makes about six servings

1/2 tablespoon organic low-fat cultured buttermilk
1 tablespoon nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 pounds (about 3 medium-size) Wisconsin Cream Gold (or Yukon Gold) potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 pounds (about 2 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small leek, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
2/3 cup organic low-fat cultured buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

pinch ground black pepper

pinch salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives

1. In a small container, stir together 1/2 tablespoon buttermilk, 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt, and onion powder. Cover and refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chopped potatoes and leeks and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
3. Drain and return the vegetables to the pot.
4. Add in 2/3 cup buttermilk, butter, and the prepared sauce. Mash with a potato masher. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Garnish with the chopped chives and serve immediately.

(adapted from this Eating Well recipe)

What's For Dinner: Yukon Gold Gnocchi

Given the large supply of potatoes in our pantry from our CSA, it was about time I tried my hand at making gnocchi. Step one was purchasing a potato ricer at Kitchen Kapers (love that store!). Making gnocchi was actually much easier than I thought it would be: just combine the riced potatoes, some flour, and an egg, and voila! Gnocchi! Given their simple ingredients, these potato dumplings were rather basic in flavor. I think next time I would like to amp up the flavor factor a bit with the addition of garlic, rosemary, or Parmesan cheese.

Yukon Gold Gnocchi (printer-friendly version)
makes 4 servings

1 pound organic Yukon gold potatoes, washed
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 farm fresh egg
olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Add the unpeeled whole potatoes to the water. Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.
3. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the water. (I just saved the water to cook the gnocchi in a later step.) Let the potatoes cool until they can be handled, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the skins from the potatoes (the skins should easily tear off).
5. Use a potato ricer to rice the potatoes into a large bowl.
6. Add the egg and use your hands to evenly combine the ingredients.
7. Turn the potato-egg mixture out onto a prepped floured surface.
8. Add the flour to the mixture, about 1/3 of a cup at a time. Gently knead the dough between additions. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and gently form the dough into a ball.
9. Separate the dough into two portions.
10. Roll one half of the dough at a time into a 1" rope. Use the side of a fork to cut the rope into 1" portions.
11. Gently roll the tines of a fork over each gnoccho to make an indentation on one side.
12. Place the prepped gnocchi on a plate and chill in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
13. Bring a large pot of water back to a boil.
14. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. The gnocchi will immediately fall to the bottom of the pot; once they are done they will float to the top.
15. Once they are cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the water, place them on a paper towel, and pat dry.
16. Serve with your favorite sauce. (I served mine with a store-bought marinara sauce that I doctored up with some sauteed red and green peppers and eggplant.)
17. If you have excess uncooked gnocchi, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper, and chill in the freezer until just set up, then place in an airtight container; you can store the gnocchi in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one month.