Italian Style Smashed Potatoes


As an Irish girl, I love potatoes. When presented with this week's sensational sides theme of mashed, I knew was going to make potatoes. Italian smashed potatoes have become one of my favorite way to mash potatoes. It's just boiled unpeeled red potatoes with Italian parsley, a good Italian hard cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. They go with everything. So simple. The amount of these ingredients listed below is a mere suggestion.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of red skinned potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
1/4 pound of really good pecorino romano or Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Rinse, clean, and cut the potatoes into roughly equivalent chunks to ensure even cooking. Place them in a medium to large sauce pot with salted water. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Boil under fork tender, about 15 minutes. Remove about a cup of the water before draining if need when smashing.

Smash/mash drained potatoes with the olive oil. Try not to over mash them. I personally like a chunkier texture. Add some of the reserved water if you want a creamier, looser consistency. Using a spoon add and mix in the parsley, cheese, and salt and pepper. As always, season to your taste preference.

-Erin Swing
The Sensitive Epicure

This is part of Food Network's Sensational Sides Food Fest. Check out The FN Dish. The spring food we're focusing on here is anything "mashed." On twitter, we're tagging #SensationalSides. Here are smashing mashed other delicious recipes:

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