Description
Smashed Potatoes with Herbs and Feta is a delightful side dish featuring crispy, golden potatoes with a fluffy interior, infused with fragrant fresh herbs, garlic, chilli, and lemon zest, topped with tangy feta cheese. Perfectly buttery and herbaceous, this dish adds a delicious, comforting touch to any meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Potatoes
- 1 kg small potatoes (unpeeled but cleaned)
Fat and Oil
- 50 g salted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Herbs and Aromatics
- ½ cup mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, rosemary)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 long red chilli
- Zest from 1 lemon
Cheese
- 60 g feta
Instructions
- Boil Potatoes: Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20-25 minutes until fork tender, then drain in a colander and let them steam dry for a few minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Melt Butter: Preheat the oven to 200°C. While potatoes dry, add butter and olive oil to a cast iron skillet or oven-proof dish and place it in the oven to melt the butter.
- Smashed Potatoes: Remove skillet from oven when butter is melted, add potatoes, and gently smash each potato with a potato masher or bottom of a glass to burst the skin and create knobbly ridges, being careful not to fully mash them.
- Arrange and Bake: Toss the smashed potatoes gently in the butter and oil mixture to coat, then bake for 25-30 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until golden and crispy all over.
- Prepare Herb Mixture: While potatoes bake, finely chop the mixed herbs, garlic, and red chilli together. Add lemon zest and mix well, setting aside.
- Add Herb Mixture: In the last 10 minutes of baking, gently stir the herb, garlic, chilli, and lemon zest mixture through the potatoes to infuse flavor.
- Serve: Remove from oven and serve hot, sprinkled generously with crumbled feta cheese.
Notes
- These smashed potatoes make an excellent side for any shared meal, offering a perfect balance of crispy exterior and fluffy interior with flavorful herbs and creamy feta.
- Use a cast iron skillet or oven-proof dish for best results and even heat.
- You can vary the herb mix based on preference; parsley, thyme, and rosemary work well together.
- Adjust the amount of chilli according to your heat tolerance.
- For a milder version, omit the chilli and add extra lemon zest or garlic.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 170 g)
- Calories: 222 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 157 mg
- Fat: 11.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.27 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.6 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 4.6 g
- Cholesterol: 27 mg
