Cooking with Toddlers: Smashed Potatoes

I have yet to come across a toddler who doesn’t enjoy mashing, smashing, banging or otherwise attempting to destroy things. Unfortunately for me, Fig has a tendency to deconstruct items of value. Furthermore, I usually make it to the crime scene after the damage has been done and there’s no possibility of thwarting the the tiny act of vandalism.

So making smashed potatoes with a toddler is multifunctional; they can smash and mash to their little hearts desire and make a tasty side dish at the same time. There is one drawback to this dish; every time Fig now sees a potato he tries to smash the crap out of it. A recent side dish of whole roasted rosemary potatoes was destroyed in under 30 seconds the other day while we were not looking. You’ve been warned!

Potatoes with a side of plane please!

Also note to add a few extra potatoes to the batch as several will most likely get eaten during the smashing process.

Ingredients:

• Baby Red Potatoes ( we cooked about 10 for three people)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Bring potatoes to boil. Once boiling, turn down heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
• Let potatoes completely cool.
• Once cool, invite an eager toddler to smash them onto a baking sheet.
• Preheat oven to 415 fahrenheit.
• Drizzle smashed potatoes with olive oil and salt; bake for 20-25 minutes or until crispy and brown.
• We serve our potatoes with Sage Aioli but they are just as delicious with a bit of butter.

Having a toddler do the smashing makes for some interesting shaped potatoes but the taste is still amazing!