Pesto Smashed Potatoes

 My absolute favorite thing to do is to read cookbooks. When I have even a second of free time, I stand and look up at the bookcase full of cookbooks that my mom has collected, and I choose a stack of three or four. I sit wherever seems the most comfortable at that moment (sometimes it's right on the floor in front of the bookcase) and I read the book cover to cover.

The most recent book that has kept me captivated is Francis Mallman's 'Seven Fires.' I read beyond the meats, and found the real beauty in the vegetables and breads. So as we were making dinner last night, I realized the baby potatoes we were already roasting in the oven were half way to becoming "Smashed Potatoes" for the Seven Fires cookbook. In the original recipe, the potatoes are bigger, the spread is an olive tampenade, and they are cooked over an open fire, but cooking is all about improvisation, so I did just that and they turned out rad.

Pesto Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

15 new potatoes
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

1/4 cup Pesto (homemade or store bought)

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 400 Degrees.

In a large bowl toss the new potatoes, salt, pepper and olive oil. Scatter onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. When a knife inserted in one of the potatoes is inserted with barely any resistance, they are ready to be pulled out.

Take a mallet (or something with a flat bottom) and quite literally smash the potatoes. Smear about a tsp. of pesto on each smashed potato. Heat a frying pan with some Olive Oil over high heat on the stove. Flip the potatoes pesto side down into the pan. Let them cook until the pesto has partially caramelized and is a rich dark brown color.

Take them out of the pan one by one and place them on a paper towel to drain. Season with salt and peper and serve.