Sour Cream and Onion Smashed Potatoes
By: Maria Del Mar Sacasa
2 lb small red potatoes, scrubbed clean but don’t peel
*and if the potatoes are small enough leave whole otherwise cut in half or quarters, but leave fairly large chunks
4 Tablespoons butter
4 green onions/scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced thin (keep separate)
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup half and half
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Bring potatoes and enough water to cover by 1 inch to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Once water comes to a boil reduce heat to medium and simmer (uncovered) until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat; cook scallion whites until translucent, about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in sour cream, half and half, salt and pepper until smooth. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.
Drain potatoes in colander and return to dry pot; let stand 5 minutes. Using rubber spatula, break potatoes into large chunks. Fold in sour cream mixture until incorporated and only small chunks of potatoes remain. Stir in scallion greens and season with additional salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Serves 4
Authors note:
“You’d think adding sour cream and onion to smashed potatoes would be a smash-dunk; plunk in sour cream, add onions and call it a day. Unfortunately, the handful of recipes I tried featured harsh or cloying onion flavor, and their texture resembled spackle. My goal was clear: Develop bold yet balanced sour cream and onion flavor while maintaining the signature texture of this rustic dish.
I started with the test kitchen’s technique for smashed potatoes, which calls for boiling small, unpeeled red potatoes until tender, draining them, breaking them up with a rubber spatula, then folding in melted butter and half-and-half until a chunky-yet-creamy puree is achieved. But when I added the sour cream, the potatoes had turned gluey by the time I’d fully incorporated it. After several tests, I found that stirring the sour cream directly into the melted butter and the other dairy (my tasters preferred half-and-half to cream or milk) before adding the mixture to the cooked potatoes meant less stirring together, which eliminated the glueyness caused by overworking. This technique also helped to meld the flavors.
As for the onion, minced chives proved too discreet, no matter how much I added. Seeking bolder onion flavor, I tried caramelized onions, but they were far too sweet. I had better results with sliced scallions, especially when I sautéed the whites in butter before mixing them with the warmed half-and-half and sour cream, and added the scallion greens raw for crunch and bite.”
