Smashed and Fried Potatoes

I tried this and decided my usual way is better: cut red or yukon gold potatoes into large chunks--3/4 to 1 inch. Heat a cast-iron pan with olive oil or butter--just enough to coat the potatoes. Toss in the potatoes, turn them to coat on both sides, and salt and pepper them. Put in an oven preheated to 375 degrees; after a half-hour, turn the potatoes. After another half-hour, give or take, the exterior is crusty and the interior creamy. Less muss and fuss; same outcome.

A lower-in-fat version: steam or boil small new potatoes until soft. Cool slightly. Smash gently (using a flat-bottomed glass or mug) on a foil-covered, rimmed baking sheet that has been sprayed with PAM or brushed with olive oil. Then spray or brush tops of smashed potatoes. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Remove tray from oven, flip potatoes, bake 15 minutes more. I then like to drizzle with a little more olive oil, kosher salt, and chopped fresh garlic and parsley. Delish.

Instead of a steamer, place potatoes in a freezer bag or lidded dish and microwave on high until soft. About five minutes.

This technique can be done with any starchy fruit or vegetable. Plantains are classic and are sprinkled with salt and chili powder and dressed with a tiny bit of lime juice.
There's no reason you couldn't try this with other root vegetables or winter squash and a variety of seasonings.
One tip for seasoning and de-oiling is to shake the finished product gently in a brown paper bag with your seasoning ingredients.

That's a great way to make fried potatoes but this recipe is for Tostones which is a popular street food in Central and South America and is nothing like American fried potatoes.

A faster way to handle the potatoes post-steam (and one that doesn't require waiting for them to cool before handling) is to place them all on a clean cookie sheet in an even layer and then press them all down at the same time with another cookie sheet. This process will miss some of the smaller ones, but remove the larger ones and go back for a second pass if necessary. Even if you have to do it twice, it's still faster.

I use a melon baller, put the potato balls in a baking dish, cover with butter, salt and bake at 400 till crispy all over...move em around once

This recipe is trending. I have succeeded by microwaving for 6 minutes in a bowl with plastic wrap, then using a glass bottom to lightly bust, and then toss in butter. Bake in hot oven (425º) for 20-25 minutes until crusty. I found extra flavor in the baby blue varieties. Sometimes instead of salt, roast then spritz with soy sauce to get that butter-soy sauce umami punch. I've been making these for the past couple years with great success and great shared results.

I make this, but different simple technique. 400 preheated oven. Place potatoes on baking sheet. Lightly coat w/canola oil and seasoning of your choice. I use salt pepper Roast for 15 min. Remove from oven take a rubber mallet from hardware store-have one that’s exclusive for kitchen, flatten the potatoes with mallet Add small amount of oil and place back in oven for 10 minutes. It’s amazing! I add garlic cloves with skin on or slices of onion. *mallet is great for chicken paillard

Instead of pan fry apply olive oil, garlic, pepper and salt and grill until brown on both sides

Cut some sweet potatoes into half inch rounds. I leave the skin on. Boil until semi-tender. Flatten with a dishtowel. Fry rounds in butter with thyme. Flip when charred on bottom. Sprinkle top with fresh thyme, red chile flakes, and drizzle with honey.

Made these for Easter. Very easy, but definitely start the 25 minute count after the water comes to a boil.

It's not necessary to steam the potatoes before hand. I cooked in cast iron with clarified butter. The key is to weigh them down (luckily for me, my dutch oven fit perfectly inside the pan I was using).

(This is how I say Francis Mallmann make this dish on TV somewhere)

Plátanos are NEVER sprinkled with chili powder. At least they're not in Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras. What country does this, do you know? Sounds like an Americanization to me.

I've seen Platanos and Tostones sprinkled with a bunch of things over the years. The Chili powder is something I've seen in mexico a few times, as well as in Peru.