Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

I did a bit of spring cleaning before the Chinese New Year and one of my targeted areas was my fridge. Hah! This is one place in the house where UFOs (unidentified fridge objects) go to hide.

Right behind the vegetable drawer, I found 5 small chat potatoes. I also found a packet of taukwa (beancurd) that was infested with mold. Yuks!

I was trying to clear my stocks and what could I do with 5 small potatoes?

That's when I remembered a recipe for smashed potatoes which looked incredibly tempting. The recipe makes 2 pounds (approximately 1kg) of potatoes, so I had to make adjustments for 5 potatoes, which wasn't that hard.

One ingredient that I always avoid (when cooking and eating out) is parmesan cheese. I find this cheese incredibly smelly strong tasting and the smell overpowering.

But guess what? I had a small packet of parmesan in the fridge which I bought because I wanted to conquer my fear of this cheese. If Anthony Bourdain can eat fish sauce and durian, surely I can stomach parmesan cheese.

So I opened the packet, took a tentative sniff, and then a taste.  Hey, it's not that bad. Maybe this particular parmesan is not like the ones I came across at the restaurants.

So I did not hesitate to sprinkle the cheese onto the potatoes. And wow, when these babies came out of the oven, the smell was incredible.

I took one potato while it was still warm and ohh..la..la... this is one of the most delicious potato dishes I have had in a while. It's great served with steak. Try it!

Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

Recipe source : Adapted from Little Spice Jar

Ingredients :

- 5 chat potatoes

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed using a garlic press (or finely mince)

- 1 tablespoon butter

- 2 tbsp olive oil

- salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp)

- some Italian parsley, chopped

- some grated parmesan cheese

Method :

1. Steam the potatoes for 20 minutes until tender (or boil).

2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix garlic, butter, olive oil, salt and some Italian parsley.

3. Microwave for 10 seconds to melt the butter. Stir to combine.

4. Place the steamed potatoes on a lined baking tray.

5. Using a spatula or any other implement, gently flatten each potato.

6. Drizzle the melted butter/garlic oil over each potato and bake in the oven at 180C for about 15 minutes.

7. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on the potatoes and continue to bake for another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and crispy around the edges.

8. Sprinkle with remaining parsley before serving.