Culinary Explorer
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Smashed New Potatoes with Fresh Herbs
Created by Chef Ally
Tender spring potatoes, boiled until yielding, smashed into craggy rounds, and roasted until their edges turn golden and shatteringly crisp, then showered with whatever herbs the garden offers today.
New potatoes in spring are a revelation. They arrive at the market still wearing bits of earth, their skins so thin and papery you could rub them off with your thumb. These are not storage potatoes. They were in the ground yesterday. That aliveness matters.
Look for potatoes no bigger than a golf ball, with skins that feel almost fragile. Ask the farmer when they were dug. The best ones will not last long on the table because everyone who knows will be reaching for them. Varieties like Yukon Gold, French fingerlings, Red Bliss, or any waxy potato will work beautifully here.
The technique could not be simpler: boil until tender, smash, roast until the edges crisp. The smashing is the whole point. Those rough, craggy edges turn golden and shattering in the heat of the oven while the centers stay creamy and soft. You are creating texture through destruction. The herbs go on at the end, just a shower of whatever is growing. Chives, parsley, dill, a little tarragon if you have it. Let things taste of what they are.
Ingredients
small new potatoes
Quantity
2 pounds (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)
kosher salt
Quantity
for cooking water, plus more for finishing
good olive oil
Quantity
1/4 cup
divided
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small new potatoes | 2 pounds (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter) |
| kosher salt | for cooking water, plus more for finishing |
| good olive oildivided | 1/4 cup |
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