Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Name: Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 16 small waxy potatoes (see tips above); 3 -4 tbsp oil (vegetable, sunflower, or olive (not extra virgin)); 2 garlic cloves (peeled); 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tsp mixed herbs; 15 g parmesan (finely grated (optional))

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Potato is the best vegetable! Here, we said it! Boiled, mashed, chipped, roasted, made into croquettes, featuring in gratins... The list goes on! Today, we're adding another lovely (and very simple) potato side dish to that list. Our Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes are a cross between boiled potatoes and good crispy roasties, flavoured with herbs and garlic! Sometimes simple things (i.e. humble potatoes) are the most delicious!

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What Potatoes To Use?

There are two things to consider: the size and starchiness of the potatoes. Your potatoes will spread out when crushed down, so you likely want to use small potatoes that will not take up half of the plate once smashed. Also, you want the potatoes to keep intact after crushing and baking them, therefore, we recommend avoiding floury potatoes. The best types that we found great in this Garlic Crushed Potato recipe are:

Baby New Potatoes
Charlotte Potatoes
Jersey Royals
Fingerlings or Yukon Gold (if you are in the US)

You can also use any of these to make our Balsamic Roast Potatoes With Rosemary, Shmashed Potatoes With Parmesan Cheese or Sage Smashed Potatoes!

Potatoes with parmesan scaterred on top on a black round plate.

Preparing The Garlic Oil

In this recipe, par-boiled smashed potatoes are brushed with garlic-infused oil. It is easy to find garlic oil in the shop, but it is even easier to make our own. This way you can make as much as you need and not have any leftovers. We recommend using 3-4 tablespoon of vegetable, sunflower or olive oil (not extra virgin) and 2 cloves of garlic for 16 crushed roasted potatoes.

To infuse the oil, pour the oil into a small saucepan. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them with the back of a wide-bladed knife (this helps to release the flavour). Add the smashed garlic into the oil and cook on minimum heat for 10 minutes. The garlic cloves should not be frying ferociously. On the contrary, keep the heat low, so the oil has time to infuse. Make sure your garlic cloves don't brown.

Seasoning for the Potatoes

To keep it simple and not overpower some of the other flavours of your dish, you may want to stick to traditional flavourings for potatoes: in this recipe, it's garlic butter and our herb, salt and pepper seasoning, that we are sharing in this recipe. However... If you need some bold flavours to add to your potatoes, why not try some of our favourite combos below:

Mix a teaspoon of chipotle paste into the butter/oil mixture and sprinkle the top with salt.
Sprinkle the top with salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon of curry powder and some caraway or cumin seeds.

Step-by-Step Method

Place the potatoes in a large pan and pour boiling water over them. As soon as the water starts bubbling, reduce heat to medium and cook until just tender. It normally takes about 15-18 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes. Don't overcook the potatoes - otherwise, they won't hold their shape once smashed.

In the meantime, heat 3-4 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan on the lowest heat. Crush two cloves of garlic with the back of the wide-bladed knife and add them to the oil. Gently leave the oil to infuse on minimum heat for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper and mixed dried herbs.

When tender, drain and let the potatoes steam in a colander for 2 minutes, so they are dry.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220°C Fan. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer, and using a heavy pan smash them down, so that the flesh is showing.

Pre-boiled potatoes crushed on a baking parchment lined baking tray.

Brush each smashed potato with garlic-infused oil. Then sprinkle with the herby seasoning.

Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the tops are crispy and brown.

Scatter some finely grated parmesan on top (optional) and serve!

Garlic Smashed Potatoes after baking, with browned garlic cloves in between potatoes.

Recipe FAQs

What Are Crispy Smashed Potatoes?

A relatively modern method - smashing - simply means that potatoes are pressed down, tearing the potato skin, that holds lumps of potato flesh intact. Brushing the potatoes with oil and then baking creates a crispy exterior.

Other Delicious Potato Side Recipes:

If you're looking for more potato side dish recipes, we have you covered. Some of our absolute favourites are listed below:

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