Lisieux House Recipes: Really Good Potatoes by Anne-Marie
Potatoes – delicious, reliable, and versatile, often make an appearance as the sturdy sidekick to the main dish for Lisieux House community dinners. While we’re all familiar with them boiled, mashed, or in a stew, this version, crispy and smashed, might just become the main attraction of your dinner table. The potatoes are crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, seasoned with salty-spicy anchovy, walnut, raisin olive oil drizzle and nestled on a bed of sour cream. Developed by chef, Molly Baz, and Lisieux House approved, here is the recipe for Crispy Smashed Potatoes.
Ingredients:
2 lb. small potatoes
Kosher salt
2/3 cup good-quality olive oil (I like Lucini brand)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 oil-packed anchovy filets (I love the Napoleon brand in a glass bottle)
3 Tbsp. golden raisins
½ roughly chopped walnuts
1 garlic clove
3 tsp. red pepper flakes
Fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, dill, and thyme
Flaky sea salt
¾ cup sour cream
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 450
Bring a large pot of water to boil with several generous pinches of kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the water and lower the heat to medium high. Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, but still firm enough that they don’t fall apart when jabbed with the fork (about 10-15 minutes)
Drain the potatoes and deposit them onto a baking sheet to cool for a few minutes.
With another baking sheet resting atop the potatoes, press down to lightly smash the potatoes. Alternatively, you could use a glass or other object with some weight to it to individually press the potatoes. Drizzle the potatoes with 1/3 cup of olive oil and season with a pinch of kosher salt and a few generous cranks of black pepper. Place the smashed potatoes into the oven for 35-40 minutes, checking in on them half-way through to flip them with a spatula.
While the potatoes bake, make the infused olive oil. Add remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil to a small sauce pot and heat over medium-low heat. Add in walnuts and anchovies allowing the anchovies to dissolve, 6-8 minutes. Transfer the infused olive oil into a small bowl and finely grate the garlic into it and stir in the raisins and red pepper flakes. Set the oil aside.
Prepare for serving by roughly chopping your herbs. Spread the sour cream on the platter you will use for the potatoes. Once the potatoes are finished baking, use a spatula to transfer them atop the sour cream on the platter. Drizzle the potatoes with the infused oil and sprinkle the fresh herbs. Finish with a sprinkle of flakey sea salt. Enjoy!
