Punched Potatoes

While planning side dishes for the Christmas Roast Beast, potatoes naturally come up. My wife loves potatoes but I try to avoid them because of the carbs. So the compromise was I would buy a bag of the cute little mini spuds, since I do not grow them. The idea of preparing them as punched potatoes came to mind after recently seeing a recipe on the Internet. If you do grow potatoes, there are always the runts and this is a good way to use them.

Punched potatoes, or Batatas a Murro, is a Portuguese dish that is simple and delicious. I first encountered the idea of punched potatoes while planning a trip to a nearby Portuguese restaurant. We live surrounded by a lot of Portuguese Americans whose ancestors came from the Azores, so there are Portuguese bakeries and Portuguese food items in the stores. But other than the kale soup I make, which is Azorean in origin, I haven’t had a lot of authentic Portuguese cuisine.

So I researched the restaurant menu online and decided I was going to order Polvo à Lagareiro, grilled octopus served over a punched potato. The octopus is boiled for an hour, then tossed in olive oil and grilled over charcoal for a few minutes to char it a little. It is served over a punched potato that was crisped in garlic-infused olive oil, with the extra oil poured over the dish. The octopus was wonderful but the “punched” potato I received was half a huge restaurant-size russet potato, grey and gummy inside. Not the crisp, garlicky potato I was expecting.

Batatas a Murro are not hard to make and what I decided to do for our Christmas dinner. There are plenty of recipes around and there are many variations. What I will provide is simply a concept with some suggestions for variations. The basic idea is you cook (bake or boil, but baked is preferred) some small (golf ball or slightly larger)  potatoes until they are done. Let them cool a bit, then using your fist or the bottom of a glass or mug, slightly smash (“punch”) the potatoes to break their skin and slightly flatten them. Then heat a small frying pan and sauté some garlic in olive oil until the garlic is fragrant and just starts to brown.



The final step is where there are many possible variations. You can:

• Place the punched potatoes in a serving bowl, drizzle with the hot olive oil and serve.
• Put the punched potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet, brush with the olive oil and bake until slightly browned and crispy. This is what I decided to do, putting them in the oven for the final minutes of the roast. Not a beautiful presentation but tasty.
• Sauté the potatoes in the pan with the garlic and oil until they are browned and crispy. This is what I expected to get with my octopus but did not get.
• Or, brush the potatoes with the olive oil and brown them on a gas or charcoal grill. If making the Polvo, you could grill the octopus and potatoes at the same time.

 Hope everyone enjoys their holidays. It is warm and balmy here, not typical for early winter. I am not that upset about it and the oil tank (and my wallet) is happy. But El Niño keeps pumping out winter storms and Goliath is on its way, so we will see. After last year, I can deal with anything.

Freddy’s Roast Potatoes

 

 

OK, after weeks of watching everyone harvest their garlic scapes and garlic bulbs, I decided I will have to plant garlic this Fall. I figure I will use the squares on the ends of the squash box where I tuck in some onion sets every year. By the time the summer squash get big enough to need the space, the garlic will be harvested.

 

For those lucky enough to have a pile of newly harvested garlic bulbs, here is a great recipe that uses a lot of garlic. I found it in a book called Dining In Boston (copyrighted in 1980!), a collection of recipes from famous chefs in Boston. This one is from the very famous Lydia Shire, who at the time was chef at the Café Plaza. It is named after her boyfriend, Freddy King, who gave her the recipe. She considers it “the greatest roast potato dish in the world” and so does our family. It would definitely be on my last meal menu.

 

The skin of the garlic must be completely intact, or the garlic will burn and go bitter. Do not use cloves with skins which are split or cracked. The garlic can be discarded or eaten, The whole roast cloves look very pretty with the potatoes.You would be totally crazy to discard the cloves. Just press on an end and the buttery, roasted clove will slide out of the skin and should be eaten with the potato.

Freddy’s Roast Potatoes

• 4 Idaho or large Red Bliss potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 10 cloves unpeeled garlic
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water for exactly 10 minutes, then
   drain. This can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time.
3. Place potatoes in a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate
   them without crowding. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Add
   the unpeeled garlic cloves and dot the potatoes with butter.
4. Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until well browned,
   turning the potatoes once or twice to assure even roasting. Serve
   with or without garlic according to taste.

 

Updated 11 Aug 2013 to work with new design template.