Cozy Side Dish: Crispy Smashed Potatoes
A heaping platter of crispy smashed potatoes is a truly cozy side dish that rounds out a meal with a big pop of flavour and a whole bunch of crunch.
In this easy recipe, tender new potatoes get a punch up from three uniquely East Coast ingredients: Old Bay seasoning, Montreal bagel spice and New Brunswick dulse (dried seaweed). You’d be hard pressed to find another spice blend that works so well with crispy smashed potatoes.
It’s been a few months of recipe testing, and I’ve nailed the ultimate crispy potato plus the umami flavour profile that makes them completely addictive. In addition, I’m giving you several kitchen hacks for even crispier potatoes and a few shortcuts to keep this recipe simple.
New potatoes have just arrived at our local markets (hello summer my darling). Add them to your basket and roast a batch today!
Cozy Side Dish: Crispy Smashed Potatoes
This cozy side dish is great in any season. In summer, I serve the smashed potatoes alongside grilled meat – steaks, chicken, sausages, lamb chops. In the winter months, the potatoes bring a welcome crunch when paired with braised meats and pot roasts.
Don’t sleep on brunch, either. A heaping platter of extra crispy smashed potatoes makes an excellent accompaniment to scrambled eggs, quiche and your holiday brunch favourites.
There’s something so cozy about roasting potatoes – the crispy bits! The aromas! And since we’re celebrating A Year of East Coast Cozy, this recipe is an essential addition to your home cooking repertoire.
Bold Seasonings for Smashed Potatoes
I’ve tested this recipe with all three unique flavouring – Old Bay seasoning, Dulse powder, and Everything Bagel – and while this trio is my ultimate preferred coating, working beautifully together, the potatoes are delicious with any one of the seasonings. Use what you have.
Old Bay Seasoning
Delivers the salt n’ spice. The nostalgic East Coast spice blend. It’s essential for Seafood Boils; delicious with corn on the cob, and yes, insane on potatoes.
Dulse Powder
Delivers the umami. Dulse is a Maritime superfood and a really interesting, sustainable ingredient to play with. The dried seaweed is earthy, fishy and slightly salty – all in the best possible way. Dulse powder on your potatoes is like the anchovy in a Caesar salad dressing or fish sauce in your Pad Thai: essential umami.
TIP: I buy my dulse whole leaf (usually AquaVeggies) and make my own powder for cooking. Simply toast the dulse for 5 minutes in a skillet or oven until it is crisp. Cool, then grind in a mortar and pestle or crumble with your fingers. Store in an airtight container.
Everything Bagel Seasoning
Delivers the crunch. I like to add this seasoning to the potatoes after they have been roasted. This way the dried onion and sesame seeds don’t burn.
I adore the crunchy, salty Montreal Bagel Spice Blend from Montreal-based Spice Trekkers. They really nailed this one. Of course, you can use any ‘everything bagel’ blend – or make your own.
Hacks for the Best Crispy Smashed Potatoes
There are decent roast potatoes and then there are potatoes that completely steal the show, even when paired with a steak. At least this is my experience with today’s recipe! Here are my best tips for extra crispy smashed potatoes.
Add baking soda to the boiling water
This hack is from chef Christine Flynn’s cookbook A Generous Meal. A teaspoon of baking soda in the boiling water helps to break down the starches in the potato. Hence: even crispier potatoes! Read more: The science behind crisp roast potatoes.
Use the bottom of the pot to quickly smash potatoes!
After boiling, I tumble my potatoes onto a prepared tray, then use the bottom of the pot to crush them. It smashes all your potatoes in about 2 seconds and lets the steam escape quickly – with no burns to you.
Brush potatoes with olive oil
Instead of drizzling oil over the smashed potatoes, brush them generously using a pastry brush. This coats every bit of the spud and helps get the oil in the craggy parts.
Final tip: The Double Season
My strategy for maximum flavour on these potatoes is to Double Season. That is, season the potatoes before and after roasting. See above for Bold Seasonings for Smashed Potatoes. Taste the potatoes after they come out of the oven, and if they need more salt, douse again with dulse powder and a dash of Old Bay.
Toppings for Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Once you have your tray of roast smashed potatoes, it’s time to have fun with the toppings. Our toppings are the garnish, complimenting the crunchy potato, often with a creamy condiment like tzatziki, Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Toppings for crispy smashed potatoes can also round the dish into a meal, bacon…fried egg… etc. For more ways to make smashed potatoes a full meal, see the recipes below in Make It a Meal.
- Sour Cream & Green Onion Topping – recipe below–
- Chives & Greek yogurt
- Crispy Bacon & Kimchi
- Green Scallion & Ginger Oil
- Fried egg, crispy bacon
- Sauerkraut, sour cream
- Creamy Kefir Green Goddess Dressing
- Horseradish Creme Fraiche
- Creme Fraiche and Caviar ( New Brunswick, of course)
Extra Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs baby potatoes room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1/4 cup dried dulse optional
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning optional
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons Montreal bagel seasoning or Everything bagel seasoning
For the Sour Cream Sauce
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon dill pickle juice or lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons chopped green onion or chives
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; grease it with a drizzle of olive oil.
- In a large pot, cover the baby potatoes with 2 inches of cool water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the baking soda. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Boil potatoes until fork-tender, about 15-17 minutes from boiling point.
- While the potatoes boil, toast the dulse in the preheating oven – just 3-4 minutes. Then cool. Crumble with your hands or grind in a mortar and pestle.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 Tablespoon powdered dulse, Old Bay, pepper and remaining half-teaspoon of salt.
- Drain potatoes, then tumble them onto the baking sheet. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top. Use the bottom of the pot to crush the potatoes down to 3/4 inch thick. They will split open! Remove the top sheet of parchment and save for another use.
- Using a pastry brush, generously coat each potato with 3 Tablespoons olive oil. The more time you take to brush into the crevices, the crispier the potatoes will be. Sprinkle the dulse/Old Bay seasoning over the potatoes.
- Place the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven. Roast potatoes for about 20-25 minutes or until very crispy. Ovens may vary. Keep an eye on them.
- While the potatoes are roasting, stir together the sour cream, pickle juice, green onions or chives and pepper. Set aside.
- Remove the roast potatoes from the oven and brush lightly with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with Montreal bagel spice. Pile your crispy smashed potatoes high on a platter and serve immediately with sour cream chive sauce.
Notes
Make It a Meal
While I’d be very happy with a tray of smashed potatoes and my sour cream topping for dinner, everyone else wants protein.
Round out your crispy potatoes with a tray of roasted sausages (can cook at the same time), a shredded rotisserie chicken, or a quick grilled protein like pork chops.
Here are a few more suggestions to make it a meal.
