Meatless Monday: Parmesan Gremolata Smashed Potatoes

I went to bed on Saturday night thinking, “I have absolutely, positively nothing that I HAVE to do tomorrow.”

Needless to say, I slept soundly. And my summer cold had me snoring Mr. Prevention out of the bedroom. Poor dude. I slept like a champ, however…all the way til after 9am. It was glorious.

Yesterday morning, I made it through a few sips of my morning coffee before deciding to take big time advantage of the empty calendar.

I made 2 muffin recipes, a biscotti, and a fruit crumble for cookbook #2. Each recipe was hugely successful and the crumble? Whoa. That one is going to be hard to beat. Sixteen recipes in, it’s the recipe I’m most proud of thus far. I can say no more other than I’M SO EXCITED!!!! 😀

And, my kitchen was a complete and total nightmare by noon. I think I filled and ran the dish washer THREE times yesterday. Three!

My neighbors? They have got to be completely and utterly confused by my all-day PJ’s and photographing food on the front porch. I mean, there’s just not a whole lot about that that’s remotely…normal.

What is remotely normal? The magic that happens when potatoes meet a ton of garlic, olive oil, and summery lemon. Add to that some cheese and parsley – voila. I could have made a meal of these potatoes. In fact, I snacked on them for “breakfast” as I was baking up a storm yesterday morning. Garlic and coffee? Who knew it’d be acceptable?

Do me a favor, however. Don’t put ketchup on these like Mr. Prevention. It’s insulting. These Parmesan Gremolata Smashed Potatoes are truly magical…and ketchup is a tragic addition. Promise.

[print_this]

Parmesan Gremolata Smashed Potatoes adapted from Use Real Butter

1 1/2 lbs fingerling potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 tsp sea salt
4 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed, and minced
1/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 lemon, zested
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 14-16 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil onto a baking sheet and transfer the potatoes to the baking sheet, on top of the oil. Gently press each potato flat with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or a heavy-bottomed drinking glass to about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over the smashed potatoes and then sprinkle with salt.

Roast for 25-30 minutes, flipping the potatoes with 10 minutes left to cook. When you flip the potatoes, sprinkle the garlic over the top before returning to the oven.

Remove potatoes from oven and gently toss with the  parsley, lemon zest, and Parmesan. Serve hot.

Yield: 5 servings (~5 ounces per serving)

Nutrition Information (per serving): 176 calories; 9.4 g. fat; 3 mg. cholesterol; 419 mg. sodium; 19.0 g. carbohydrate; 1.4 g. fiber; 3.8 g. protein; 0 g. sugar

Result: Aaaamazing. Garlicky and bursts of lemon and herb, accented by the grated Parmesan. Simple enough to make, these smashed potatoes are worth the little extra effort. Mr. Prevention raved about these and I, too, was in love.

[/print_this]

 Three day work week…I got this 🙂

Be well,