I love potatoes — mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, french fries, potatoes au gratin.  The list goes on and on . . . .But, I also like easy recipes and ones that the whole family will enjoy.  This recipe for smashed potatoes is really very simple.  And, they are fun to make, because you get to smash the potatoes with a mug — almost as if you were making tostones.

However, nothing is fried, so this is a great healthy side dish.  The potatoes are oven baked and seasoned with delicious smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. They are a great alternative to a roasted potato — and I market them as french fries to get my kids to eat them!

So, next time you are at the market, grab a bag of baby new potatoes (they can be white, Yukon gold, or red potatoes).  And because all bags of potatoes seem to come in different weights, you choose the amount of olive oil and seasoning you put on them.

Smashed Potatoes

1 bag of baby new potatoes (I like the white or Yukon gold varieties)
A few tablespoons of olive oil
Smoked paprika
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper

Add cleaned potatoes to a pot of water.  Bring the water and potatoes to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil until potatoes are fork-tender — mine took about 25 minutes.  Drain potatoes and let them cool so that you can handle them.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Take a large cookie sheet and coat the bottom lightly with olive oil.  Place potatoes on the cookie sheet a few inches apart so that you can allow them to spread when you smash them.  With a flat bottomed coffee mug, push down on the potato until it flattens (check out the picture to the right).  Once you have flattened all of the potatoes, drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil over them and sprinkle with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  There’s no precise measurement for the spices, but take a look at the picture in the header to get a sense of how much spice I used.

Bake until potatoes crisp up a bit – time will all depend on how many potatoes you have and their size, but 20 minutes is probably a good estimate.

Enjoy!

Helpful Hint: If you tend to be short on time in the evening, boil your potatoes during your morning routine. Drain them, and leave them on your countertop (or in the fridge, if you prefer) for smashing and oven roasting later.