Cracked Potatoes
Recipe courtesy Amy Finley, Show: The Gourmet Next Door

Milk Street's Cracked Potatoes

Many reviewers said the recipe calls for way too much oil and that the potatoes take much longer to cook. Cooking time will depend on the size of the potatoes.

You can certainly use Yukon, or Red Bliss Potatoes-- just try to buy them "small" and uniform in size. The trick is learning how to "crack" each potato without smashing them. You can use a rolling pin, or you may want to try a meat pounder. What you want is to see a "fissure". This lets the steam escape while cooking.

Milk Street also has a recipe for Cracked potatoes and said they got their inspiration from Potatoes Afelia, a Cypriot dish that calls for cracking the potatoes when raw, then braising them. Milk Street says they are much easier to make than smashed potatoes. where you first boil them, then flatten, then crisp in fat. London chefs Sam and Sam Clark whack raw potatoes. Next, they cook the potatoes in a covered pan with oil and coriander seeds, a traditional afelia flavoring. A glass of red wine, added just at the end, simmers into a flavorful sauce. Milk Street uses vermouth instead of red wine. They said, though traditional afelia recipes add enough red wine to create a sauce, we found we liked the potatoes best when most of the liquid simmered off, leaving just its flavor behind. One cup of vermouth gave the best results for creamy, well-browned potatoes.

12 small-medium Yukon potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil (cut back by at least half, maybe more)
2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves [or herb of choice]
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 clove garlic, sliced
Special Equipment: a rolling pin or heavy pan

Using the rolling pin or a heavy pan, gently smack the potatoes, 1 potato at a time, until the skin begins to split, exposing the interior of the raw potato. You want to split and fracture them slightly but not enough to fall apart.

Over low heat, add the olive oil to a medium-sized heavy-bottomed saucepan, then add the potatoes and thyme sprigs and season generously with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the pan and allow to cook, undisturbed, shaking the pan every 5 minutes or so, until the bottoms of the potatoes are browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. (Check occasionally to make sure the potatoes aren't browning too quickly and adjust heat accordingly.) Turn the potatoes to their second side, replace the lid, and continue cooking undisturbed a further 5 to 8 minutes.

FMM: I might add some chicken broth after the potatoes have browned for some added flavor. I would need to make this recipe to tell if this would work.

Remove the lid and cook a further 2 to 3 minutes, for the condensation to evaporate.

Remove the thyme sprigs and add the sliced garlic and chopped fresh thyme and cook until the garlic is caramelized and chewy, about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

4 servings