Fried smashed potatoes with “gremolata”

The Story

Back in the day when I was in middle school, I did my fair share of after school activities, you know like my mom told me to so that I would have an easier time getting into college and all. Every day I would rush home and put on the Food Network for an hour or so before I had to rush off to whatever activity was planned for the day.

I was obsessed with Sweet Dreams with Gale Gand even though I was too scared to venture into desserts in my early teens. So, the next best thing for awhile was Michael Chiarello’s show. I loved hearing about classic Italian recipes that I, try as I might, replicated in my parent’s kitchen. Once I got a little more advanced in my abilities I decided to try his Potatoes “Da Delfina”, par-boiled smashed potatoes that became shatteringly crispy after fried in hot oil. To serve he tossed them in a kind of gremolata with raw garlic, lemon zest, and parsley.

My mom absolutely loved and still loves them to this day, so throughout the many times I’ve made them I’ve made a couple tweaks to make them my own. Principally I sub out the raw garlic for sautéed garlic to which I add a couple of other ingredients to remove some of that raw bite. The good thing about this recipe is you can use the same technique to prepare the potatoes, but change the condiment/dressing and have a completely different rendition. Slather them in a yogurt dressing like my cucumber dill yogurt with ranch dressing vibes or dip them in tartar sauce. They’re a perfect side dish for a piece of meat like my pan-roasted spiced chicken thighs.

Difficulty: 2.5 on a scale of 1-5

Active time to prepare: 20 minutes

Total time to prepare: 45 minutes (includes inactive time to par-cook and cool the potatoes)

Serves: 4

The Ingredients

For the potatoes:

1 1/2 pounds/600 g mini Yukon Gold potatoes

Water

Salt

For the “gremolata”:

1/4 cup/54 g good quality olive oil

3 anchovy filets

8 cloves of garlic finely chopped or grated on a microplane

1 tsp./1.8 g chili flakes

Zest of 1 lemon

1 bunch parsley finely chopped

For the assembly:

Light-colored oil (i.e., sunflower, vegetable, peanut, canola, etc.)

The Recipe

Potatoes:

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot, and cover with enough cold water to cover them with 1 inch/2.5 cm excess. Season the water with salt (it should be salty like sea water).

2. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

3. Cook the potatoes until they are just tender enough so that a knife goes in smoothly without breaking them apart (12 to 15 minutes).

4. Remove them from the water with a spider and place them on a baking sheet.

5. Cool them in the refrigerator until you are able to handle them comfortably (15 minutes approx.).

“Gremolata”:

1. In a small sauce pan, heat the olive oil.

2. When small bubbles appear, add the anchovies. Cook them until they break apart (3 - 4 minutes).

3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (2 - 3 minutes).

4. Add the chili flakes and lemon.

5. Pour the flavored oil and all of the garlic and condiments into the bowl you will be serving the potatoes in. Add the parsley and mix to combine. Set aside.

For the assembly:

1. Lightly smash each cool potato between your hands.

2. In a large pot, heat up enough light-colored oil so that the potatoes will be fully submerged to 190° C/375° F.

3. Fry the potatoes in batches until they are golden brown (8 - 10 minutes).

4. Remove them from the oil with a spider and place them directly in the “gremolata”.

5. When you are done frying all of the potatoes, gently mix the potatoes to coat them in the “gremolata”.

6. Serve piping hot or at room temperature.

DO AHEAD: You can make the “gremolata” without the parsley 1 day in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to make the dish, heat it up in the microwave and continue the rest of the recipe.

LEFTOVERS: I wouldn’t eat these cold. I mean you could, but it wouldn’t be my preference.