Side · starch

Lemony Smashed Potatoes

Name: Lemony Smashed Potatoes
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 lb baby potatoes; 0.5 whole lemon; olive oil; kosher salt

Boiled, smashed, crisped. The craggy edges are the point.

Crispy smashed potatoes finished with lemon

Active12 min

Total40 min

Dishes2

Per serving$0.60

starch
vegan-option

Ingredients · 4 servings

1.5 lb	baby potatoes
0.5 whole	lemon
	olive oil · pantry
	kosher salt · pantry

Method

The chef moveSmash them flat and roast blistering hot so every surface goes lacy and crisp, then hit with lemon while hot.

Boil potatoes until tender. (Do this Sunday and refrigerate.)
Smash flat on an oiled sheet, roast at 230C / 450F until crisp, ~15 min. Finish with lemon and salt.

Nutrition · per serving

Calories193

Protein4g

Fat7g

Carbs30g

Fiber4g

Sodium305mg

Estimated from this recipe's ingredients, not lab-measured — not a substitute for professional dietary advice.

The Why · No Anecdotes

The science, not a story about my childhood.

Why boil first, then roast — why not just roast them raw?

Boiling gelatinizes the interior starch into a creamy center that dry roasting alone never reaches. Smashing then explodes the surface area, and every one of those craggy flattened edges crisps in the hot oven. Surface area is the whole game with crispiness.