Crash Hot Potatoes

I asked Gerry if he'd blog about this new potato recipe someone suggested to us. They found it on the Pioneer Woman blog, but it was originally put forth by an Australian food writer named Jill Dupleix. Pioneer Woman has beautiful pictures to accompany the recipe, but give Jill's a read just to savor the Australian jargon.

Now I'm going to hand things over to a guest blogger: My husband, Gerry! [With a few comments from me.]

So the other night we decided to try the "crashed" potato recipe...we used our blue and red potatoes from Week 4 and a couple Adirondack reds we had left from Week 3. One of our challenges was that the potatoes were not all the same size, so that made it a little tricky to get them to "almost done" in the boiling stage. I pulled the smaller ones out early. I considered cutting the larger ones in half [because I told him he should.] but I didn't know how they would hold up in the "crashing" segment of the recipe. If you have a choice, try to use all the same size! [Or try cutting them in half!]

I then dried them and put them on a well-oiled baking sheet. I used olive oil because I like it, and then "crashed" them down with my trusty potato masher. Apparently there is a standard for how the "crashed" potatoes should look of which I was not aware. I thought once you "crashed" something it would look, well, crashed! But apparently some crashing is more attractive than other crashing...suffice it to say that it would seem that my "crashing" technique needs some work to be more consistent...I'm just sayin'. [Yeah, I hear ya.] I brushed the tops with olive oil and then seasoned them with salt, pepper and some rosemary and dill (herbs from the farm share). I then baked them in a hot (450 degree) oven for 25 minutes. The tops will start to brown a little. This is good. In fact, it is very good. It gives them a little crunch when you bite them.

Overall, I thought they were delicious. I was happy with my "crashing"...and I think that as I crash more, I'll get better at it! The fresh herbs were really nice in combination with the extra virgin olive oil. [And all three colors were scrumptious.]

We used the recipe again tonight and I am happy to report that my technique did improve! [It didn't hurt that we went through the entire bin of potatoes at the store and picked out six that were very close in size.] We had just white flesh red potatoes this time and they had a really creamy texture that was nice with the crunchy, browned parts. I will definitely do this again! [I sure hope so!]

Thanks for blogging, Gerry! And thanks for putting up with me as I hover over you and take pictures. You're the best.