The ultimate comfort food!

There’s really no debating it—potatoes are the ultimate comfort food! And the best way to enjoy them is in crispy-smashed form.

For years, I’d heard rumors that the proper way to achieve a crunchy-on-the-outside texture with a creamy-on-the-inside mouth-feel was by first boiling and then smashing and baking the spuds to golden perfection. (And it’s true!) But it was only after I discovered an enlightening and absolutely hilarious Bon Appetit video that I was inspired to give it a try.

Bon Appetit recipes are always solid, so my first effort was flawless. Plus, crispy smashed potatoes are crazy easy! While Molly at BA’s recipe calls for a yummy umami sauce with golden raisins and walnuts (and that sauce is amazing!), I am also partial to roasted garlic on potatoes. I often forgo the umami sauce and just go with melted ghee (or butter), roasted garlic, and a handful of fresh herbs.

As I’ve mentioned in every one of my posts so far, it’s very hard for me to find time for lunch, let alone do any cooking. My hack is to repurpose leftovers. Unfortunately, smashed potatoes are not very microwaveable. You can rejuvenate them in a frying pan, but honestly, there’s nothing like a fresh batch. So, what I do to save time at the lunch hour is to boil the potatoes the night before. Then, all I have to do during the business day is just plop them on a pan, smash them, butter them up and bake at 425 for about 25 minutes.

Trust me, this is one of those go-to foods that you’ll always be happy to have in rotation. And it’s not only a great lunch. It’s a fantastic side dish, late-night snack or the perfect thing to serve if you want to amaze your friends at happy hour (eating and drinking, of course, at a safe social-distance outside while wrapped in a thermal blanket on your patio.) Or better yet, under some nice heat lamps.

Enjoy the potatoes!