My sister-in-law made these the other night for Easter dinner, and the “whack-a-mole” method of dealing with the potatoes seemed like a good stress-buster. Besides, we have a long-handled meat tenderizer with a flat side, which worked extremely well at smacking the potatoes (we didn’t cut them in half, as they were smaller than the ones the other night).
However, the cutting board did not survive; it already had a couple of splits and was not very high quality, and it split right down the middle as we whacked away at the spuds. It did work really well to hold them in place, though. Oh, well.
12 small-medium Yukon potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic, slicedSpecial Equipment: a rolling pin or heavy pan
Using the rolling pin or a heavy pan, gently smack the potatoes, 1 potato at a time, until the skin begins to split, exposing the interior of the raw potato.Over low heat, add the olive oil to a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan, then add the potatoes and thyme sprigs and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the pan and allow to cook, undisturbed, shaking the pan every 5 minutes or so, until the bottoms of the potatoes are browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. (Check occasionally to make sure the potatoes aren’t browning too quickly and adjust heat accordingly.) Turn the potatoes to their second side, replace the lid, and continue cooking undisturbed a further 5 to 8 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook a further 2 to 3 minutes, for the condensation to evaporate.
Remove the thyme sprigs and add the sliced garlic and chopped fresh thyme and cook until the garlic is caramelized and chewy, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.
The other item is stufed bell peppers with Italian sausage – something I threw together with a little Bertie Wooster and an entire head’s worth of whole garlic cloves. They had something like it for 3 times the cost at Meijer but it had cheese in it, a no-go for my husband David, so we’ll see how this version comes out. We’re just waiting for the potatoes to get done now, about another 10 minutes.
Ginny
I can has iPhone?
Via: Flickr Title: Dinner 2nite By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 26 Mar ’08, 6.48pm CDT PST
Ginny
I can has iPhone?
