For the Best Smashed Potatoes, Make Them the Portuguese Way

I still remember the first time I ever encountered a smashed potato. A colleague at work forwarded a recipe from Bon Appétit  that called for boiling a bunch of small, thin-skinned potatoes before draining, crushing, and roasting them into crispy, olive-oily oblivion. They were delicious on their own and even better with fun dips and toppings like garlic-flecked yogurt, pickled onions, and a scattering of fresh herbs.

From that moment on, the technique has stayed securely in my one-size-fits-all side dish repertoire. Every time I make them, they’re a little different. Sometimes, I’ll be boiling potatoes for another use and squirrel a few away for smashing and crisping up another day. Other times, I’ll roast the potatoes first for a hands-off (albeit not quite quick) approach that saves me from dirtying up a pot.

One of my favorite ways to switch up smashed potatoes trades the super-thin and extra-crispy for something softer, creamier, and extra garlicky: Portuguese batatas a murro.

The Portuguese Difference

Batatas a murro, literally smashed or punched potatoes, is a traditional side dish in Portugal that differs in one key way from the Americanized version of smashed potatoes: Batatas a murro are gently smashed. They are broken open and slightly flattened, keeping much more of the creamy interior intact than your typical, deeply crisped smashed potato.

After breaking them open, they’re a ready vessel for olive oil, salt, and some minced garlic before a final bake that crisps them up. The combination of creamy insides and crisp, garlicky outsides makes them a really delicious variation on the smashed potato that goes with just about anything. I especially like them with something saucy like glazed oxtails, braised short ribs, sole piccata, moqueca, or even a spicy pork stew.

Tips for Smashing Potatoes

You can make batatas a murro using boiled potatoes or roasted potatoes, so feel free to use the method you prefer. This recipe calls for roasting, but to boil them, add the potatoes to a pot of salted water and cook until tender all the way through (10 to 15 minutes for small potatoes or 20 to 25 minutes for larger ones). Make sure to drain them well and let the remaining water evaporate from the skins before you smash; excess water not only makes them a bit slippery to work with.

Whatever cooking method you choose, just make sure to choose small waxy potatoes (about the size of a golf ball), like yellow new potatoes, fingerlings, or baby potatoes. Then, get smashing! I recommend smashing them directly on the baking sheet you’ll finish cooking them on. Here are my favorite ways to smash them:

• The pestle press: If you have a mortar and pestle in your kitchen, place the pestle in the center of a potato and firmly press down, wiggling a little bit if needed to break the skin. Depending on the size of the potato and the pestle, this may leave an indentation in the potato where the center is flatter and the edges are not flattened, a perfect cup for garlic and oil and my preferred method.
• The one and done: Grab a second baking sheet and set it on top of the potatoes. With kitchen towels around both of your hands to prevent knuckle burns, hold the short edges of the top baking sheet and press gently down to smash all of the potatoes at once.
• The cup smash: Choose a large, flat-bottomed cup and place the cup on a potato. Firmly press to flatten. Pieces of potato may stick to the bottom of the cup, so rub with a little olive oil or cooking spray on the bottom before using.
• The angry fist: Wrap your fist in a clean kitchen towel. With the potatoes on a baking sheet, place the flat part of your fist—the joint before your fingers meet your hand—onto a potato. Press firmly to smash until the potato cracks open.

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