smashed potatoes with fresh dill and curry Flor de Sal

With St. Patrick's Day the day after tomorrow, how could I not blog about my fondness for potatoes ? Baked, boiled, smashed, sauteed, pureed, chipped and sometimes added to a fry up, potatoes are my one carb weakness that assures I will not ever be able to stay on the South Beach diet. At least I've discovered those small bags of baby potatoes, which helps with the portion control. But any day, I'd choose potatoes over pasta or rice. And my favorite herb with potatoes is always fresh dill. I make French Potato salad with dill, Corn Chowder with dill, and my latest, One Pot Chicken with tiny potato balls carved out of big white potatoes with a melon baller. They're extremely cute.

Smashed potatoes have been out and about on blogs and in magazines lately, so I finally decided to make them. I made them plain, with just dill and salt and pepper, with browned butter and with olive oil, sprinkled with dill just before serving - then my favorite, which was with both browned butter and olive oil. Just to make sure I wouldn't starve, I also boiled up some wee potatoes, rolled them in olive oil, and sprinkled those with fresh dill, too. My blessed daughter had just surprised me with a lovely bag of food goodies for my birthday, including curry Flor de Sal, so I tried that as well. Is it any surprise I loved them all?

To make any of these dishes, you start with about a pound (half a 2 lb bag) of tiny potatoes. Sometimes they're labeled "creamers". I picked up some baby Idaho potatoes for these recipes, all about the size of Bantam eggs.

Smashed Potatoes for two:

1 pound baby potatoes

1 T. fresh dill, snipped

kosher salt and/or Flor de Sal

fresh pepper

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

or

1 T. butter

or both the butter AND the olive oil.

Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil.

At a slow boil, cook potatoes for 20 minutes, or until tender, then drain.

Using the same hot saucepan, melt the butter and oil together, set aside.

Using the bottom of a glass, gently press down on each potato until it is slightly

flattened.

Using a spatula, place potatoes on a toaster oven pan, then spoon a little of the olive oil and butter on each smashed potato.

Cook at 400F for 20 minutes, remove, sprinkle with salt , pepper, and dill and serve while still hot.

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For the Flor de Sal smashed potatoes:

Smash potatoes, drizzle with olive oil/butter, then sprinkle about 1'4 t. Flor de Sal on each little potato. Bake as above, at 400F for 20 minutes, then remove and serve. I skipped the dill on these.

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For the plain baby potatoes:

Boil as above, drain, and melt the olive oil and butter in the still warm saucepan you used for the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the oil and butter, and roll them around until coated well. Turn the heat up a little and do a quick saute, then scoop onto plates and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the freshly snipped dill. Serve instantly.

Enjoy!