Smashed Pizza Spuds
More-ish little snacks with pizza flavours on smashed potato. So good! Serve with a dish of hot sauce.
Ingredients
Method
- 1
1. Boil unpeeled potatoes until the largest of them are cooked enough to be squashable.
- 2
2. Allow to cool enough to handle (you could also cook them the day before and store in the fridge).
- 3
3. Turn your oven to its hottest setting and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- 4
4. Using a small spoon, press down gently but firmly on each potato until they split and flatten. If they fall apart a bit, you can press them back together, no worries.
- 5
5. Brush the top of each potato with vegetable oil and top each with a piece of tomato, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- 6
6. Bake in a hot oven until the tomatoes are soft and the potato edges are starting to colour (approx. 20 minutes).
- 7
7. Remove from the oven, top each spud with black olive and grated cheese, and return to the hot oven for a few minutes, until the cheese is melty.
- 8
8. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley or other fresh herbs if you like, and a dish of sauce for dipping and drizzling.
Notes: This works well with all sorts of dipping sauce. Here are some ideas: your favourite relish, mayo, aioli, pesto or pizza sauce (we used a jar of chilli-tomato pizza sauce). A fresh salsa made with very finely chopped ingredients would be good too. You could also make a tahini dressing (equal parts of tahini and hot water, seasoned with a pinch of salt and a dash of cider vinegar or lemon juice). I love this recipe because it’s low on fuss but high on deliciousness. The size of baby potatoes makes them perfect for snacking and grazing. I also love the fact that the recipe is naturally gluten-free and as popular with kids as it is with adults. The flavours we associate with pizza – cheese, olives, tomato, herbs – work beautifully on the potato because it’s a starchy base just like a pizza base. But this recipe also lends itself to infinite variation in the seasonings and toppings. Some ideas: Season with smoked paprika and garlic salt, then after baking top with chopped chives and Angel Food sour cream.
