Crispy Smashed Potato Salad

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Crispy Smashed Potato Salad is incredibly rich in flavor and texture.  Crispy-edged with creamy interiors,  smashed and roasted potatoes make a unique salad and side dish.

Brushing the potatoes with bacon fat before roasting brings a smokey flavor to compliment the jammy 7-minute eggs.   Add a creamy component -  buttermilk and sour cream dressing full of fresh dill and chives.  Then finish with bacon bits and green onions for more crunch and brightness.

Two Step Process

In this great recipe smashed potatoes offer the best of two different kinds of preparations.

1.  Whole potatoes in their jackets are parboiled until tender.  As a result, the interior of the potatoes is fluffy and creamy.
2.  Next, the potatoes are placed on an oiled sheet pan and smashed which exposes some of the interior and increases the surface area.  When roasted, the best thing happens - the edges become browned and crispy.

What kind of potato is best?

Use either red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe.  It is the size that is important so make sure to use baby potatoes.   It is much easier and faster to boil and smash them.  Since the skins are kept in the salad, I like to use red-skinned potatoes for their color.

If you run across a potato with a green color cast, don't use it.  There are a couple of reasons.  The potato has been exposed to light which produces chlorophyll, thus the green color.  However, the flavor may be bitter.

More importantly, the presence of a green color can be an indicator of a toxin, solanine.  It is best to throw out the potato.

Crispy Smashed Potato Salad Ingredients

• baby red-skinned or Yukon gold potatoes
• thick cut bacon
• eggs
• green onions
• fresh dill and chives
• buttermilk
• sour cream
• cider vinegar
• kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• olive oil

Preparing Crispy Smashed Potato Salad

Boil the potatoes and eggs

• Measure the buttermilk and let it come to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
• Start water in a medium pot for potatoes and in a small pot for the eggs. Over high heat, bring to a boil.
• While waiting for the water to boil, cut the bacon into strips. Start to fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat.

Fry the bacon

• When the bacon is crispy, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the skillet and drain it on a paper towel-lined plate. Pour the bacon fat into a measuring cup. You should have approximately ¼ cup.
• When boiling, season the water in the medium pot with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the pot.
• Add the eggs to the small pot of boiling water. Boil the eggs for 7 minutes, then place the pan under cold running water for 1-2 minutes. Remove the eggs from the pan and set aside.
• Boil the potatoes for 9-10 minutes. When the potatoes are done, a sharp knife can be inserted easily. Don't overcook the potatoes - they will become mushy.  Drain the potatoes and let them sit for a couple of minutes. The skins will dry and the potatoes will cool slightly.

Roast the potatoes

• Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto a sheet pan and add the cooked potatoes.
• With a metal measuring cup or a glass, smash potatoes, splitting the skins and flattening the interiors. The potatoes will have a perfect smashed texture and should be between ¼ - ½ inches thick.

• Brush each of the flattened potatoes with the bacon fat. Season the potatoes with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
• Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake the potatoes for 10 minutes.
• Flip the potatoes over and brush the other side with the bacon fat. Put the sheet pan back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Prepare the salad ingredients

• While the potatoes are baking, chop the herbs. Give the fresh dill a rough chop and mince the chives.
• Peel the eggs and cut them into quarters.

Buttermilk and Sour Cream Dressing

• In a large bowl, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, dill, chives, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
• Add the remainder of the bacon fat and ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar to the buttermilk mix.  The vinegar helps to temper some of the richness of this creamy dressing.

Combine all the ingredients

• When the potatoes have finished baking, add them to the buttermilk dressing. Make sure to add any remaining pieces and or small crunchy bits of potato from the sheet pan.
• Fold the potatoes, coating them in the dressing.
• Combine potatoes and green onions, and gently fold in the eggs. Add the crispy bacon to the potato salad and serve.

Substitutions

1. Use any fresh herbs you like such as fresh parsley or chervil.
2. Hard-boiled eggs can be used instead of 7-minute eggs.
3. Shallots can be substituted for green onions.

Perfect Accompaniment

Crispy Smashed Potato Salad is a great side dish and can be served with burgers, steak, or barbeque chicken.  Serve it anytime you would like a classic potato salad.  It is especially tasty when the potatoes are still warm or at room temperature.

Potatoes and bacon have a natural affinity for each other, a feature of this recipe.  Creamy, crispy, and rich, this version of potato salad has all the flavors of smokey bacon, jammy eggs, and fresh herbs.

Here is another potato salad recipe - https://tenpoundcakecompany.com/caesar-oven-roasted-potato-salad/