Crushed Potato Gratin with Scallion and Herbs

 

If I wasn’t such a people pleaser, we’d all just be eating whole tiny boiled potatoes tossed with butter, salt, and chives and calling it perfection. But I am, so I do crushed potatoes, which I feel is a nice compromise between mashed and whole-boiled.

Inspired by a gratin but with no motivation to use a mandoline, these potatoes are boiled whole in salted water, crushed by hand, layered in a baking dish of your choosing along with some sliced scallion, covered with heavy cream, and baked at a high temperature until the cream has both been absorbed by the potatoes and starts to caramelize a bit, giving you creaminess in the center and crispiness at the edges. These potatoes have TEXTURE. They have a shower of herbs. These are MY potatoes, and soon, they might be yours.

YIELD — 8–10 servings

 

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds small, waxy potatoes, about the size of a golf ball

  • Kosher salt

  • 1 bunch scallions or 1 large leek, thinly sliced

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 1½ cups heavy cream

  • Olive oil, for drizzling

  • 1½ cup mixed herbs, such as dill, parsley, chervil, chives, or tarragon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, cover the potatoes with water and a generous amount of salt. Bring to a boil, and cook until fork-tender, about 15–20 minutes. Drain, and set aside to cool.

2. Gently crush the potatoes with the side of a knife, and place them in a 1.5-quart baking dish, pie plate, or other oven-safe vessel, layering with about three-quarters of the scallions as you go. Pour the heavy cream over the potatoes, and season with salt and lots of cracked black pepper. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil on the top before popping the dish into the oven.

3. Bake until the cream has caramelized a bit and bubbled up around the edges and everything is golden and crispy and creamy and delicious, 15–20 minutes. Top with a bit of flaky salt, remaining scallions, and a scattering of herbs.

DO AHEAD: You can boil and crush the potatoes a few hours ahead. Let them hang out in whatever vessel you’re going to bake in.

LEFTOVERS: Weirdly good cold, but also excellent reheated in a 425°F oven. Also try reheating in the oven, making a few little nests for some cracked eggs and popping it back into the oven—a little potato baked egg dish from the heavens.


newsletter, vegetables, thanksgivingAlison RomanComment