For today’s contribution, I must say that I haven’t made a potato dish this quickly... ever. Of course, they’re not mashed potatoes. But they’re pretty damned close, and with a very interesting texture. They’re called crushed potatoes, because you that’s just what you do – you crush them through the grid of a baking rack. Lay a potato on top of the rack, smack it good, and push it through those little squares. Wham, bam, and there they are. Add the spiced oil and you’re ready to eat. The texture is great and the spiced oil adds a mildly exotic flavor that works when you serve the dish warm or at room temp.
The original recipe, which I found in the most recent issue of Food & Wine Magazine, suggested that pushing the potatoes through a baking rack would also easily remove the skins. So, fool that I am, I believed them. I boiled my potatoes, cut them in half, and crushed the first half of the first potato down on my little rack. Take a look at this photo and see what I learned. Notice that the thin skin of the potato gets a death grip on the wires of the baking rack, and you can spend the next 5-10 minutes digging it out. Multiply that process against 6-8 potato halves, and you have what we used to call a screaming meemie in the kitchen.
So I peeled the rest of my potatoes, which wasn’t hard because after boiling, that skin comes off pretty easily. But the Kitchen Goddess said to herself, “Maybe there’s a better way.” And by gum, she was right. It turns out that any number of clever folks have discovered that if you take a sharp paring knife and make a shallow cut around the circumference of the raw potatoes before you boil them, the skin literally lifts off in two whole pieces when they’re done. That tip is too late for the Goddess this season ... unless she decides to make this dish again soon, which is not a bad idea. If you’re not sure what I mean about the technique, check out this video.
Once you’ve boiled your potatoes, you will want a couple of pieces of equipment for this preparation.
■ A baking rack/wire cooling grate. I call it a baking rack; but it’s listed on the website for my local restaurant supply store as a “wire cooling grate.” And it’s $1.99. Also available on amazon.com for $1.99, but amazon wants to charge $19.74 for shipping. So I’d recommend you look around for a restaurant supply store in your area. (On further inspection, I see that the rack sold by amazon is shipped from Ace Mart Restaurant Supply, which is the store I go to. Hahahaha!)
■ To grind the spices, the easiest way is with a spice/coffee grinder. If you don’t have one of those, use a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have one of those, try wrapping the seeds in a clean kitchen towel and taking a hammer to them. But a spice grinder (a.k.a., coffee grinder) is a nice piece of gear to have, and the best (according to America’s Test Kitchen) is the Krups Fast-Touch Coffee Mill ($13.88 on amazon.com). If you’re an amazon prime member, you can have it tomorrow!
So after all that preamble, here at last is the recipe. I want to say that the trio of toasted spices – caraway, coriander, and fennel – brings lovely, warm flavor notes to the potatoes, especially in combination with the olive oil. Caraway has a distinctly sweet but tangy flavor, often used with winter vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. Coriander is sweetly aromatic with a hint of citrus, and found in many curries. And fennel has a sweet, grassy flavor, with notes of anise and licorice.
Crushed Potatoes with Spiced Olive Oil
Adapted from Justin Chapple in Food & Wine Magazine (November 2019)Serves 8-10
Ingredients
5 pounds medium-sized red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes
3 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Kitchen Goddess note: For the photos on this post, I made a half recipe instead of the quantities listed here. I still had more than ample servings for 6 people.
Directions
Into a large pot, place the potatoes (after scoring the circumference for peeling, of course). Add water to cover by 1 inch, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, and reduce the heat enough that the potatoes are only simmering. Simmer until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. (Test by piercing a potato with a fork or a skewer; if it slides in easily, the potatoes are done.)
While the potatoes are cooking, combine the caraway seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir almost constantly, until the spices are very fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a spice grinder or mortar, and process or crush until the seeds are slightly finer than a medium grind. Stir the crushed seeds into the olive oil in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.
Kitchen Goddess note: If you don’t have a spice/coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle, and you don’t feel like crushing the seeds in a kitchen towel with a hammer, you can always use the pre-ground versions of caraway, coriander, and fennel. The grind will be finer than recommended, so the look of the dish won’t be quite so rustic, but the taste should be close to the same, as long as your ground spices are fresh. To tell the freshness, take the lid off the jar and put it up to your nose; fresh spices should have a good strong smell.
When the potatoes are done, drain them and cut them in half lengthwise. Lay your wire rack over a large bowl, and place a potato half, cut side down, on the rack, and press completely through to the bowl.
Fold the spiced olive oil gently into the potatoes, so as to preserve that lovely crushed consistency. Stir in the pepper and remaining tablespoon of salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Kitchen Goddess P.S. –
What you can do ahead:
1. Cook the potatoes.
2. Crush the potatoes.
3. Mix the spiced oil.
4. Assemble the entire dish.
You can do step 1, or steps 1 & 2, or steps 1, 2, & 3, or all four. Reheat the potatoes to serve warm or at room temperature.
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