Panfried Smashed Potatoes

Stop what you're doing right now and make these. Make them, I say. Do it now! 

This is a great a la carte option because you can buy as many or as few teeny red potatoes as you want and just make that much. The pan you see pictured above fed two of us with plenty to spare, by my count about 14 potatoes. 

The key to this outstanding recipe is buying really small, but uniformly sized red potatoes. I'm talking 1 to 1 1/2 inches max. My market happened to have these, but if your store only has big, 2-3 inchers, it will just be too big, I'm sorry. Baby yukons would probably work too, but I really dig the red skin on these. 

Panfried Smashed Potatoes

(c/o Gourmet) 

8-12 baby red potatoes

2–3 Tbsp oil

Parmesan cheese

Salt (preferably kosher), pepper, and freshly chopped parsley

Place the potatoes in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. 

On a cutting board (or right on your counter, you maverick) gently press the taters with a blunt surface. You want them to split and flatten, but not break into 15 pieces. You'll get the hang of it. A pancake-flipper will work, I used the side of my big knife. The recipe recommended a potato masher, but my taters slipped through the holes, and I didn't like that. 

Meanwhile, in a skillet, bring 2 Tbsp oil to med-hi heat. Place the potatoes in a single layer and let them cook 10 minutes on each side, until nice and crispy. Be sure to keep an eye on them--you may need to add more oil or lower the heat if they're browning too quickly. 

Off heat, generously season with salt and pepper and sprinkle parsley. Then even more generously coat them with parmey cheese. Serve immediately.