Batatas a Murro, Portuguese Smashed Potatoes
Batatas a murro are the punched potatoes of Portugal, a rustic side from the north where small potatoes are baked in their skins, then given a thump to split them open and doused, while hot, with garlic and a great deal of olive oil. Stripped of the oil, the dish still holds up, because its real pleasures are the dry, concentrated potato you only get from baking and the raw hit of garlic driven into the torn flesh. The two things worth doing carefully are baking the potatoes until their skins go papery, not boiling them, and softening the garlic in a spoon of water so it can season the potatoes without the oil to carry it. Use small, waxy potatoes so each person gets a few. They want nothing more than parsley, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon at the table.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Potatoes, small, whole, skin on
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 leafs Bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
Method
- Heat the oven to 425 F (220 C). Scrub the potatoes, leave them whole and unpeeled, and bake them directly on a tray with the bay leaves tucked among them until a knife goes through easily and the skins are papery, 40 to 45 minutes. Baking rather than boiling drives off water and concentrates the potato, giving the fluffy inside and crackly skin that the dish is named for.
- While they bake, warm the minced garlic in a small pan with 2 tablespoons water over low heat for 2 minutes, just until it smells sweet and loses its raw bite. The name, a murro, means with a punch, and traditionally raw garlic and a lot of oil are punched into the split potatoes; softening the garlic in a little water first tames it so it can go on without the oil.
- Give each hot potato a firm press with your palm or the flat of a knife until it bursts open but stays in one piece. Cracking them open makes ragged, craggy surfaces that catch the garlic and steam off their last moisture.
- Spoon the softened garlic and its water over the split potatoes and turn them so the craggy insides soak it up. Scatter the parsley and grind over the black pepper. The starchy, torn flesh drinks the garlic in place of the oil it would normally carry.
- Serve hot, straight from the tray. In Portugal these sit beside grilled fish or bacalhau; here they go with beans, greens, or a bowl of soup, and a squeeze of lemon does the work of salt.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 180 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g fiber, 15 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
