Smashed Salt Potatoes - A Recipe for Leftovers (2024)

So Memorial Day has come and gone, but you still have salt potatoes hanging around in the fridge. It happens… a lot at my house. You have a couple of options. Reheat those bad boys, add more butter, and serve them up again. Although, at my house, the second consecutive appearance of salt on our dinner table is not received as favorably as the first time. You can always, dice them up and make hash browns, or potato salad. Or you can just give them a good smash, dress them up with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute here, smashing sounds much more fun.

And, aside from getting to play with our food, making Smashed Salt Potatoes is incredibly easy. In fact, it is so easy to make these I am hesitant to call this a recipe. But it is my favorite way to dress up leftover salt potatoes.

Wait, what are Salt Potatoes?

Salt potatoes are a regional dish that are very popularCentral New York, particularly in the summer when they are served with chicken BBQs, at picnics, and family gatherings. Syracuse, which is also known as “Salt City” has a long history of salt mining. During the 1800s, Irish salt miners would bring a bag of small, unpeeled, second rate potatoes to work each day. Come lunch time, they boiled the potatoes in areas of free-flowing salt brine. Today, practically every local grocery store sells prepackaged salt potato “kits”, which usually include 1 lb. of salt. Potatoes sold as salt potatoes are usually Size B, Grade US No. 2.

We eat salt potatoes at just about every summer gathering, and occasionallywith dinner. The salt potato kits that are sold at grocery stores include about 5 pounds of potatoes, and that is a lot of potatoes, even for my potato loving family. I suppose I could cook half a bag, and save the other half for later, but I never do. So, I always end up with leftover salt potatoes.

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

See Also

Chocolate Birthday Cake Butter Mochi RecipeClassic Cranberry Sauce RecipeScreaming Eagle Cheese-Steak Sub RecipeBeef Stroganoff Recipe

My favorite way to dress up leftover salt potatoes.

Ingredients

• 12 whole left over Salt Potatoes, cooked
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Freshly Ground Sea Salt, to taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Rosemary (or other herbs of choice), to taste

Instructions

1. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
2. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Drizzle the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
3. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
4. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

My favorite way to dress up leftover salt potatoes.

Ingredients

• 12 whole left over Salt Potatoes, cooked
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Freshly Ground Sea Salt, to taste
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Rosemary (or other herbs of choice), to taste

Instructions

1. On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
2. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Drizzle the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
3. Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
4. Bake in a 450-degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe Adapted from the Pioneer Woman