Yummie crisped smashed potatoes with rosemary.

So I thought I should at least put up one of my happiest comfort food recipes, although in the warmer months I have a tendency to move away from pots but on the weekend with brunch or for the men in my life with a steak it really can't be beat. I do em' with fish cuz red meat doesn't like my belly.

Chef tip:Always read a recipe all the way through before starting to cook so you know what to expect and to be sure you have the ingredients and equipment you need!

Recipe: Smashed Pots with Rosemary Difficulty-Easy!

Ingredients:

1lb small potatoes (I find the baby purple ones work best but the red ones are good too & a bit
sweet-do not use the white fingerling, they fall apart)
3 + Tablespoons good organic olive oil (regular is fine too)

4 + pats of organic butter (this depends on you, feel free to use less or more)

2 cloves of garlic minced fine

1 medium onion chopped fine

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary chopped

a good pinch of sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Chef tip:Remember,when using salt it's better to use less and allow people to add as much as they like at the table because you can add but you can't take away.


Method:

-boil the potatoes until a fork inserts easily (do not make them mushy potatoes, you are not
mashing them!)

-remove them from the water and allow them to cool, they can be refrigerated or put in an ice bath(what it is: cold water and ice cubes in a bowl used to quickly reduce temperature of hot item) just be sure there is no water on them when you're ready to fry them up. Water and oil don't mix!

-place the potatoes on a flat surface like a cutting board and using the heel of your palm smoosh the pots until they are a flat disk with some of their guts flattened out, don't make them too flat or they will crumble apart on you when you cook them, you want them to hold their shape.

-in a cast iron skillet place 1 Tablespoon of olive oil with a pat of butter in a hot pan, allow butter to melt and just start to sizzle. (medium to high heat-not maximum)

-add onions and cook til a beautiful golden brown, really let the naturally occuring sugars in the onions caramalize so they look and taste wonderful.

- lower the temperature to medium heat and add the garlic and cook briefly til nice and fragrant,
be sure not to burn it or else you will have a bitter taste to your food, garlic should never be black! About 1-2 minutes max depending how much heat your pan has held.

-reserve(what it is:taking the item just prepared and putting it aside in a different container for later use) this mixture in a bowl big enough to toss all your potatoes in once they're all cooked.

-in the same pan add remaining oil and a butter pat, heat til sizzling then add potatoes, brown on both sides til you can see they are crisped and golden (you can add a little blob of butter here and there to prevent them burning). Place them in bowl with the reserved onion garlic mixture.

-when all your potatoes are cooked(you may need to use more oil and butter depending on your pan size) and in the bowl with the onion mix sprinkle in the rosemary, a pinch of good quality sea salt(I prefer the grey sticky one), and season with fresh ground black pepper to taste. Toss to mix gently and briefly-be loving to your food people.

Serve hot as a side, you can add a dallop of sour cream that has some fresh chive snipped into it.

Bonne appetit!