There probably are a billion ways to cook potatoes – and (almost) all of them are delicious. But this one, this recipe – damn damn damn. This is pure deliciousness! And it is soso easy to make, so little mess and perfect to prepare ahead of time.
The crispyness on the outside of the potatoes and the softness on the inside just work so perfectly together in your mouth. Paired with some greens and a little tangy pesto and an herby dipping sauce, it is perfection. Perfection with so little ingredients.
What‘s special about this dish?
The way the potatoes are prepared. So, instead of just cooking and peeling, or baking regularly or frying them in a pan, they are prepared differently. First, they are boiled in water, just as regular potatoes. Then, they are patted dry and smashed with something heavy, like a pot. Now, we drizzle them with oil and sprinkle some salt and bake them in the oven until they are crispy.
Which potatoes should be used?
Definitely some from which you can eat the peel. We need to be able to do this because otherwise they won‘t get as crispy. Usually, the young and small potatoes can be eaten with the peel, such as the „Heurigenkartoffel“.
Is this dish healthy?
Oh yes. Potatoes often get a lot of (undeserved) hate because of their high carbohydrate content. Actually though, potatoes are such a healthy vegetable. They do have a high carbohydrate content, which though is very good because they‘ll provide you enough energy to stay fit and motivated throughout the entire day. Plus, they also add a bunch of fibre, which satisfies you and keeps you full! Moreover, they are packed with antioxidant, which help to prevent diseases. And obviously, they contain a whole bunch of vitamins such as Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. All in all, it needs to be said that potatoes are really healthy and definitely do not deserve all their hate.
What is more, is the asparagus, pesto and dipping sauce. Asparagus is full if fibre and vitamins, and also great to add some color. The pesto is not only delicious but also packed with many healthy, unsaturated fats. And the dipping sauce adds some more protein and also vitamins from the herbs. All in all it definitely can be said that this is a very well balanced meal or side dish.
How to make this dish?
As explained a bit above already, there are a few different steps to this. And yes, it takes long but it is one of those things that can just chill in the pot or oven and you can go do something else in the meantime.
So we start by preparing the potatoes. To do this, we just add them to a pot along with some water and bring it all to a boil. Depending on how big your potatoes are, you need to cook them somewhat between 20 and 25 minutes. At approximately 5 minutes before they are done, we also are adding in the asparagus. Once they have finished cooking, we can drain them.
Now comes the fun part. Therefor we need a baking tray lined with parchment paper. We are going to have some fun and smash the potatoes (I know mom would say „don’t play with food“ but I guess in this case it is fine ;)). First, we need to gently pat them dry with a kitchen towel. They cannot be wet anymore because then they won’t become crispy. Then, we are taking one potato at a time and placing it on the parchment paper. Then, we‘ll take the pot we previously cooked them in and press it onto the potato so the peel tears apart and the potatoes are smashed. Now we need to repeat this with the remaining potatoes.
Now all thats left to do is adding the asparagus, drizzling with olive oil, sprinkling with some salt and into the oven they go. While this is baking for approximately an hour, we can prepare the dip by mixing the herbs, greek yoghurt, sour cream and cream cheese.
One the potatoes are done, we just add the dip and pesto on top and voilà, we can enjoy it!
Great to prepare!
This way of cooking potatoes is amazing for when you have friends over for example. You can just pre-boil the potatoes, smash them and prepare the dip, and then drizzle with oil and bake them freshly whenever you need/ want them, and you do not make a mess anymore, you just pop them into the oven.
We really, really love this way of making potatoes because the crisp and the flavor is just genuinely soso good. I really, really hope that you‘ll also enjoy it as much!
Incredibly Easy Crispy Smashed Potatoes, Asparagus & Pesto
This recipe is at least 5x better than your average way of making potatoes. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and really simple to make. Paired with the dip and the pesto it is pure heaven.
What you will need
- 1 kg small potatoes (which you can eat with the peel)
- 500 g green asparagus
- oil
- sea salt
- some pesto to serve
For the dip:
- 200 g greek yoghurt
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 100 g sour cream
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped basil
How to
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Start by adding the potatoes to a pot and covering them with water. Bring them to a boil and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes. About 5 minutes before they are done, add the green asparagus (before adding it, cut 2 cm of the bottom off). If a fork goes in and comes out easily when picking into the potato, they are done. If not, they still need some time to cook.
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Drain both, the potatoes and the asparagus and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. They need to be really dry or else they won‘t get crispy.
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Onto a baking tray lay some parchment paper and add a potato. Take a pot and smash the potato down, until the skin has torn and the potato is about 1-2 cm thick. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. Now, add the asparagus to the tray as well, drizzle all with some oil and sprinkle some sea salt. Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
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In the meantime mix the greek yoghurt, sour cream and cream cheese with the chopped parsley and basil.
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Once the potatoes & asparagus are done, serve them with the dipping sauce and the pesto. Enjoy!
Have fun cooking,
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière
