
Forget that this is a viral food sensation. Smashed Potato Salad mixes two seemingly disparate preparations — crispy, creamy — for a surprisingly delicious potluck go-to.
Recipes for this abound online. But I found my thrill on Natasha’s Kitchen YouTube. You can make this with Yukon Golds or New Potatoes, which I had on hand.
The hardest part is crisping up the smashed potatoes in the blistering-hot oven. Mine were a bit bigger than the Yukons Natasha used, so when I flattened them, they went splat and looked wet and messy. A few pieces scattered.
I have never had much luck making anything with potatoes, least of all crispy ones. Every single time, it’s turned into mush.
Our neighbor friend Dominic hosts bible study every Monday night at his home. He and his family prepare potluck dinner, too, for the guests.
We’ve had tacos, gyro meat, yakitori, and baked penne.
A couple days ago, his son said that they were running out of dinner ideas and if it was okay if they made roast beef sandwiches. Immediately, I thought about making the perfect accompaniment: potato salad.
But not just any potato salad.
An easy one, preferably without leftovers — another problem I’ve always had. No matter how much I tried to halve the recipe, I always ended up with half that I’d throw away when mold appeared.
You only need two pounds (a little over 907 grams) of preferably small potatoes to work with, red onion, dill, celery, dill pickles (not sweet), capers, Dijon mustard, and mayo. I went slightly under.
I almost boiled two or three more potatoes to fill out the sauce/flavorings, but held back. It almost looked like there was too much celery.
When my husband gave it a taste-test, he went “Oh!!!!” — the sign of a very tasty potato salad and a recipe keeper.
I brought it to bible study, along with Part. 2 of my Turkish Bagels (they tore!). They were a hit, and went well with the roast beef sandwiches grilled brats.