It's been smoky over here in our forested Washington land. So smoky, that a sighting of sun rays invokes the same awe we used to show up with when a rare thread of smoke arched from a hill top. And smoke, dear friends, fucks up your center. Churns it, packs it down tight, and then stuffs it into your gut. When one arrives at peak smoke permeation, as we have, food becomes as rote as the forecast. Even when friends import a box of luscious tomatoes across the smoky frontier, it matters not.
So, perhaps because bits of our souls are abandoning their posts with each smoke-filled day, we can't remember a meal we cooked and enjoyed since passover - which was in April. And we had a great meal at Passover. Which is why, I present to you, dear friends, a distant Passover memory, but a new Passover favorite:
Smashed Potatoes (from the Whitewater cookbook)
*In a nutshell, its a boiled potato, smashed, sprinkled with salt, oil and cheese, then baked. Its silly to come across this recipe so late in life.
16-20 baby potatoes
4 T Olive Oil
1 t sea salt
1/2 C Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 C green onions, chopped
1 t truffle oil (or you can skip this, because we ain't rich)
- Preheat to 375
- Boil potatoes until just done and can be pierced with sharp knife (about 30 minutes) then drain
- Place potatoes on parchment lined baking sheet
- Gently smash and flatten with a potato masher or back of a large spoon
- Drizzle with 2 T olive oil and sprinkle with salt
- Bake for 15 minutes, drizzle with remaining oil and cook for further 15 minutes, remove from oven
- Raise oven to 400
- Sprinkle potatoes with parmesan and green onions and return to oven til cheese is melted and golden brown (about 5 minutes)
- Remove from oven and drizzle lightly with truffle oil (the stuff no one has)
A photo of fire day 1, when summer met its quick death.
