sMash Potatoes
Servings 4, Preparation Time 40 minutes
Our Smash Potatoes are not a dish that generates a good credit score at Project Big Life when calculating life expectancy. Although eating more fruit or vegetables generates positive results, potatoes are singled out to generate negative results. The more potatoes you eat the shorter the calculator predicts you will live. Why? Scientists assume that your potatoes are accompanied by nasty things, like an excess of salt and fat, especially saturated fat or trans fat. They assume the potatoes are fried or smothered in sour cream, or butter. They assume you don't just eat potatoes, but that the rest of the meal includes burgers, fried chicken, battered fried fish and so forth. This is a shame because potatoes can be prepared in healthier ways and our Smash Potatoes is one of those ways, especially if you omit the salt.
We use no butter, no sour cream, no trans fat, nor vegetable oil and that means no unnecessary calories or hidden cholesterol. Potatoes are a staple in our diet and Smash Potatoes is a favourite dish with family and friends.
If you have some spare time, we encourage you to visit the Project Big Life website and play around with the life expectancy calculator and learn more about their calculators.
- 5 to 6 large potatoes, or a pound or two of small potatoes. Wash, dry, but do not peel the potatoes, do remove any blackened or green patches
- 2 tablespoons of almond flour
- 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon salt or less or, best, none
- 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- ground black pepper
- parchment paper
- Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water. Water should cover the potatoes. Cooking times will vary by the size of the potatoes. Small potatoes with an approximate diameter of one inch should be cooked in ten minutes, large potatoes may need twenty to twenty-five minutes of cooking time. Boil until tender. Potatoes are ready for the next cook stage when a pointed knife passes through a potato with minimum to no effort. Drain the cooking water and let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes for small potatoes and twenty minutes for large potatoes.
- Line a cooking tray or baking dish with parchment paper and arrange potatoes side by side on the baking sheet. Using a large wooden spoon or spatula to protect your hands from the hot potatoes, gently press down on each potato to break the skin and flatten each one. Caution not to flatten too much, ½ inch thickness is sufficient. Season with ground black pepper.
- Blend almond flour, nutritional yeast, and a little salt, if desired, to make a savoury topping. Sprinkle over the potatoes. Chop fresh rosemary leaves to garnish.
- Place the potatoes in the oven to roast until the potato tops are golden and a little crisp. Allow for at least 25 minutes of roasting time.
Our preferred method when cooking many potatoes is to boil them in a large pot of water on the stove. For a small batch, we prefer to use our microwave. Cooking times in microwaves vary by size and manufacturer. It is best to use small increments of time to rotate and test the potatoes for tenderness until they are thoroughly cooked.
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