Garlic Smashed Potatoes (SRC)

 

Secret Recipe Club time! This month I was assigned Confessions of a Cooking Diva by Julie. I had a great time looking through Julie's blog this month and I especially liked all her menu planning posts and the way she bases her meals around different themes. We plan and shop fortnightly (which I know doesn't work for everyone) but tend to base our meals around the kids' activities and having enough leftovers for hubby's lunch. I really should do a menu-planning post of my own one of these days!

Anyway there were lots of yummy recipes to chose from and I have her Slowcooker Chicken Drumsticks, Baked Banana Bread Oatmeal and these Baked Eggs all bookmarked to try soon but in the end I couldn't go past these Garlic Smashed Potatoes. I mean, Julie is from Idaho after all!

We have a roast dinner probably every second Sunday and I am always on the lookout for different and interesting sides. We've had potatoes lots of ways but never smashed despite seeing variations of them all over the place.

These are such a simple yet delicious way to cook potatoes. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and seasoned beautifully with garlic. We had them with roast chicken, roast beetroot and green beans tossed in lemon and olive oil. It was a seriously good dinner. Unfortunately the day I chose to make all this was ridiculously hot and we all sweltered with the oven on for a few hours (sorry to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere who are dealing with endless snow - here it is a seemingly endless summer!).

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Recipe from Confessions of a Cooking Diva

1-2 potatoes per person
2 tbs olive oil
2-3 ts minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until just tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from the water and cool for 15 minutes. While they are cooling, preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F degrees. Grease a baking dish and set aside.

Place the potatoes in the baking dish and using a fork or potato masher gently squash each potato. Mix together the oil and garlic, drizzle this mixture over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for around 20 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Serve warm or hot.

Thanks for a great recipe Julie! This has become our new favourite way to have potatoes :)

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San Francisco Garlic Fries (Secret Recipe Club)

Another month has flown by and it's Secret Recipe Club time again!

This month I was assigned Melissa's blog Fried Ice and Donut Holes. I really love the story behind her blog's name that her Grandpa used to tell them all to behave or they'd be having fried ice and donut holes (aka nothing) for dinner.

Stories about grandpas are making me a little teary at the moment as we got some sad news yesterday that my Grandad passed away. He was 91, married for more than 60 years to my Grandma (who passed away a few years ago) and an all-round great character. Such a great sense of humour, easy way with people and so successful in everything he put his mind to. He will be missed.

Moving on to this month's recipe, I had a great time perusing Melissa's blog and found some real gems including her No-Bake Energy Bites and Buffalo Chicken Shepherd's Pie. But as soon as I saw the fries they were calling my name.

We're still on a bit of a health kick and tend not to buy takeaway anymore BUT that doesn't mean we can't make our own cheaper and healthier versions at home! And these San Francisco Garlic Fries fit the bill perfectly.

We ate these with some gorgeous pan-fried salmon, avocado and salad on Good Friday and it was an amazing meal. These are hands-down the best fries I've ever made. I kept some plain for Charlie (who's 3 and a very fussy eater) but Oscar loved them with garlic and parsley too.

These are a winner!

San Francisco Garlic Fries
Recipe from Fried Ice and Donut Holes

1 kg potatoes
3 tbs olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C / 450 degrees F. Grease 2 baking trays and set aside.

Slice the potatoes into chips and toss in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of the oil then season them with salt and pepper. Spread the chips in single layers on the prepared baking trays and bake for 30 minutes, or until the fries are tender and lightly browned.

Increase the temperature to 260 / 500 degrees and continue cooking for another 5 minutes or so until the fries are dark brown around the edges.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining  tablespoon of oil with the garlic and parsley in a large bowl. Add the hot fries and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. Try not to eat them all yourself!

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