Smash Potatoes

This is one of our favorites! I like to serve potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash – or some other plant based carbohydrate – with dinner.  When I can find purple potatoes, I use those, because they help me add color to the plate and maximize our phytonutrients.

Ingredients:

• 12 organic small potatoes* (any variety, but the small colorful ones work the best)
• 2 Tb red wine vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 3 Tb olive oil + more
• salt & pepper
• fresh herbs (such as rosemary, oregano or thyme), chopped finely

*buy organic, these are on the Dirty Dozen

Process:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine potatoes, red wine, bay, peppercorns and 1 tsp salt in a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a low boil and cook just until potatoes are fork tender (not too long, or they’ll go from creamy to crumbly). Drain when ready.. You can do this step in advance if you’d like.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, drizzle olive oil onto a baking sheet.  Place cooked potatoes on top of that, and smash down gently with a meat tenderizer or the palm of your hand. (Don’t worry, they don’t have to look perfect. The little bits that fall apart are the tastiest anyways.) Drizzle the top of each potato generously with more olive oil. Then sprinkle with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh herbs. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden brown.