Crispy Miso Smashed Potatoes with Sesame Creme Fraiche

Ingredients

Potatoes

• ~2 lbs baby potatoes or any small waxy potatoes

• 2-3 tbsp red or white miso paste

• Olive oil

• 3/4 cup salt

Creme Fraiche

• 1/2-3/4 cup creme fraiche

• 1-2 tbsp sesame oil

  • Tip: sesame oil has a very strong flavor so it’s best to start out with a small amount and add as desired

• 1-2 tbsp rice vinegar

• 1/2 lime (optional)

• Salt to taste

• Scallions for garnish

4 -6 servings

Method

Potatoes

• Heat oven to 425º

• Place potatoes in a large pot of water with roughly 3/4 cup of salt. Bring to boiling and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fork tender (probably 12-15 min depending on the size of your potatoes)

  • Parboil: to parboil something means to cook half-way by boiling it. In this case, you parboil the potatoes in order to make them soft on the inside but not fully cooked, as they will be transferred to the oven after to finish cooking

  • Fork tender: when something is fork tender it means that you can easily insert a fork into it with little resistance, which indicates it is done cooking

• Drain the potatoes, transfer to a baking sheet, and dry thoroughly

  • Tip: whenever you want something to get crispy—whether it’s potatoes, chickpeas, or meat—you should ensure it is thoroughly dried first. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness

• Place another baking sheet on top of the potatoes and press down in order to smash them. Alternatively, you can smash them with the underside of a plate or measuring cup (or anything flat)

• In a skillet, gently heat up the miso paste with ~1/3 cup of olive oil. Keep the heat low and stir constantly until the miso paste is incorporated into the olive oil

• Coat potatoes with the olive oil/miso mixture and a small pinch of salt.

  • Note: the potatoes will have already been infused with some salt during the parboiling process and miso paste is quite salty, so you don’t want to overdo it here

• Place potatoes into the oven and cook for about ~30-40 min, flipping half way through

Sesame Creme Fraiche

• Place creme fraiche into a bowl and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil, 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, juice from half a lime (optional), and a pinch of salt

• Stir until everything is well-combined

• Taste and adjust flavors as desired by adding more sesame oil, rice vinegar, or lime juice

  • Note: if you do not want more of any of the flavors above but your sauce is still too thick, you can add a tiny splash of water to thin it out so that it is can be easily drizzled over the potatoes

Assembly

• Cut scallions to use for garnish

• Place potatoes on your serving plate and let cool for 3-5 minutes. You don’t want the sauce to immediately melt onto the potatoes, which will happen if they are too hot

• After the potatoes have cooled, drizzle the sesame creme fraiche over them and sprinkle the scallions on top