We've been meaning to make this smashed potatoes dish since the recipe ran in the NYTimes last month.You can cook the potatoes on a grill outdoors, but even so, you're supposed to use a griddle over the heat.
Instead of wasting charcoal (is it ever really a waste?) we cooked indoors, using an antique griddle that just keeps getting better and better the more we use it. (I think it used to belong on top of an old stove, one with a cut-out you can set the griddle into. I'll photo it some time.)
Basically these are boiled potatoes that you squash slightly, and then smear olive tapenade on them. Over to the hot-hot griddle you go, where you sear the bottoms of the taters for a while, and finally you flip them and sear the tapenade side.
They tasted smoky! Like they'd been cooked outdoors.
Turns out the tapenade burned a little, in a very good way. This might be part of the plan; I don't know. But I wouldn't do it any different from now on.
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Looks very tasty, and so do the vegetables adorning the other part of the plate!
Anna: They were a charming little salad of fennel bulb, onion, cucumber -- all thinly sliced -- tossed with supremes of orange, with a gentle vinaigrette.
Strictly vegetarian, that meal.
Anna: And radishes. Can't forget the radishes. :)
tatoes, mmmm, my favourite fruits!
Thank you. I kept on trying to think of what to cook first on the griddle insert for my stove (It fits over the fifth eye in the middle.) and now I know. Because there are only two starchy/carb things that I truly love. And potatoes are at the top of the list.
I love smashed spuds, though not as much as mashed, it't the butter factor you see :)
PS, I bought a pair of pink socks today, they made me think of you.
I dig the smashed potatoes concept, it's one I use regularly. Sadly, I hate olives. They taste like I just put a salt brick in my mouth. Now I need to find something else to try these with.
Yumz! I have always made "pancakes" from mashed potatoes (adding beaten egg and seasonings to leftovers, sauteing in butter) but this is even better. Mr. B. does come up with super ideas for simple foods. Thanks for sharing.
At first glance I thought they were potato pancakes. Gently smashed and grilled. Love it.
Mouse: I really like them too. We have an embarrassing plethora of varieties to choose from here, so you can always find the right size, the right color, the right texture.
Of course it's the butter, but I'd never tried smashed before, and it was... fun!
(Now. Can you imagine me playing with your stockinged footies, singing our song? Eek.)
Kailyn: Ah, and thanks to you for making it clear how this griddle was designed to be used. Bon appetit.
Sweet Bird: Well, think of the smashed potatoes as a sort of bruschetta, and see what comes to mind. I don't know if you'll necessarily get the smoky flavor, but I know I'm going to experiment.
Kudzu: There are never leftover mashed potatoes at my house! And would you believe I have to cook pasta a la minute to make a spaghetti pie? Thank you for the idea.
Greg: Yeah, you squash them after they're cooked (not peeled), and it makes cracks and nooks for good stuff to ooze into. And -- fun.
Like Sweet Bird, olives are sometimes too salty for me - but the spuds would temper that, wouldn't they? May have to give this one a try.
Zoomie: Interesting. I have an aversion to oversalted food, too, but I'm never bothered by properly cured olives. This is a tapenade; perhaps you'd like it, and you can adjust how much you smear on. (The recipe uses too much oil; experiment.)
just saw your post on zoomie station about "no more sweet breakfasts". i'm trying to find the thread on twitter. i have been thinking the same thing for several months...
http://chezdanisse.blogspot.com/2009/03/bored-with-breakfast.html
Denise: How cool that you wandered over here. I had noticed your blog name and loved it.
The tweeters that come to mind at the moment were lifebeginsat30, marriedwdinner, fkhatibloo... jenniferjeffrey might have been one... cat_shattuck. tanabutler. grubreport. egratto.
It was earlier today, so you'd have to snoop back lots of hours.
thanks--i'll dig around. i'm still trying to get a feel for this whole twitter thang : )
Crikey, must get a pedi!
Mouse: No prob. Just leave the socks on.
{General Readership: "What on earth are they talking about?"}
I like tapenade, but like potatoes more so I think I will try the smashed potatoes with a lighter combination, maybe like this; make a pesto with cilantro and pecans instead of basil and pine nuts. (I'm southern. Pecans are semi-sacred). Then, using the pesto as the base, I'll make a tapenade with green onions and red peppers minced up small. That with the potatoes should be quite lovely. Might have to have it tonight.
Melissa: Beautiful ideas indeed. Thanks for the input.
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