Smashed sweet potatoes with goat’s cheese and kale

After trying out and getting happy smiles with smashed potatoes, I wanted to try out another version, as it is such a versatile format. Greg and some of our friends love sweet potatoes and the kale is still growing strong, while our rosemary bushes are out of control and desperately in need of a haircut. So, as we had a friend over for dinner last night, I decided it was time to make use of our guinea pig and made a small batch of sweet, smashed potatoes, but also made some normal smashed potatoes just in case.

To my delight this was the hit of the meal, even served alongside a wonderful steak (Italian tagliata style with rocket and parmesan) and a crunchy pear and fennel salad. What really made it was the herbs and kale which added great flavour while tempering the sweetness of the potatoes. Needless to say, I will be making a bigger batch next time! Let me know if you have any great experiments with smashed potatoes!

Smashed sweet potatoes with goat's cheese and kale

Serves: 3-4 as a side dish, 2-3 as a main course

Time to prepare/cook: Overall 40-45 minutes – 15-20 minutes to boil the potatoes and prepare the other ingredients, 5 minutes to make the smash mixture, 15-20 minutes to bake

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Ingredients

• 500g sweet potatoes

• 40g butter

• 2 teaspoons grated parmesan

• 50g soft goat’s cheese (no crust)

• 1 medium spring onion or ½ large red onion, finely chopped

• 3 teaspoons crushed garlic

• 6 large kale leaves (I used dinosaur kale)

• 2 tablespoons/a handful of finely chopped rosemary and flat leaf (or frizzy) parsley

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Olive oil for cooking – a spray oil is great

• Pots & pans needed: Saucepan, baking tray, large mixing bowl, small frying pan, sharp knife, small bowl to melt butter in, large fork/potato masher (I use a large serving fork), chopping board

Method

• Wash and cut the potatoes into large chunks, leaving the skins on, while bringing a saucepan of water to the boil

• Boil the potatoes for approximately 10-15 minutes at a medium heat (6 on a scale of 1 to 9), until they feel soft when you stick a knife into them, drain and put into the large mixing bowl – note: sweet potatoes cook faster than normal potatoes when you boil them

While the potatoes are boiling:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C, lightly grease the baking tray with a little oil, chop the herbs and crush the garlic

• Chop the onion finely and cook in a teaspoon or so of olive oil for about 5 minutes until it is soft and starting to go slightly golden; set aside

• In a small bowl, melt the butter – you can put it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (ensuring the bowl is covered), or set the small bowl next to the boiling potatoes (but not on the heat)

• Wash the kale, remove the central spines and chop roughly (no need to pre-cook the kale)

• Gently smash the potatoes with the large fork or potato masher until they are a little broken up but not totally mashed – for me, the fork is the better way to go

• Add the cooked onion, melted butter, herbs, garlic, kale and cheese to the potatoes, plus a few turns of the salt and pepper mills and mix well but gently so you don’t mash the potatoes too much

• Using a large tablespoon, make 10-12 mounds of the potato mix on the baking tray – don’t worry about flattening them down, as the uneven shapes mean the edges/top will get nice and crispy

• Squirt a tiny bit of olive oil over each potato mound for extra crispiness and put the baking tray into the middle of the oven

• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops of the potatoes are golden brown and serve straight away as a side dish

Steak tagliata style, with smashed sweet & normal potatoes, plus a crunchy pear & fennel salad - yum!