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Green Goddess Smashed Potato Salad

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Makes 4 to 6 servings 1x

Time about 1 hour, plus time for chilling if you like

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds waxy or all-purpose potatoes (like those with red skins, fingerlings, or Yukon gold)
  • Salt
  • 1 to 2 packed cups fresh mixed mild herb leaves (see the recipe note)
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons strong-flavored herb leaves (see the recipe note)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder
  • 1 large or 2 small lemons
  • 1 clove garlic (optional)
  • Pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Get 1 or 2 large rimmed baking sheets handy. Scrub the potatoes and trim off any rough spots but leave the skin on. Put them in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches; add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat so the water bubbles steadily. Cover and cook until they’re just tender enough to pierce with a fork without breaking apart. Start checking after 5 minutes for small potatoes, or after 10 minutes for large potatoes.
  2. While the potatoes simmer, work on getting the herbs rinsed, trimmed or stripped from their stems, and measured.
  3. When the potatoes are ready, drain them in a colander and run under cold water to stop the cooking. If you used large potatoes, cut them crosswise about 1 1/2 inch thick. Put them on the baking sheet (or sheets) in a single layer. Use a meat pounder, rolling pin, or heavy-bottom glass to flatten each potato to about 1/2 inch thick – it’s okay if some shatter a bit. Drizzle the smashed potatoes with the oil, turning them to coat; spread them out again. Roast the potatoes, turning once or twice with a spatula and scraping up any of those extra bits, until they’re crisp and browned in places, 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Put the herbs in a food processor with the mayonnaise, buttermilk powder, and 1/3 cup water. Grate 2 teaspoons lemon zest from the lemons and add that to the dressing. Juice the fruit but don’t add it yet. Add the garlic if you’re using it. Run the machine until the dressing is pureed. Scrape down the sides and check to see if you want to add a little more water. You want the dressing almost as thick as mayonnaise.
  5. When the potatoes are ready, transfer them to a large bowl, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved lemon juice. Using a soft spatula, toss to cool the potatoes and break the larger pieces into bite-size chunks. Pour the green goddess dressing over all and keep tossing until the potatoes are mostly coated. Add some pepper and taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more lemon juice, salt, or pepper as you like. You can eat the salad right away or chill for a few hours. The longer you wait, the more the flavors soak into the potatoes. (After a couple days, the vibrant green will dull but the salad will be gone before then.)

— Recipe developed by The Bittman Project for Bob’s Red Mill

Recipe variations

Green Goddess Potato Salad, Old-Fashioned Style

Using boiled potatoes is a more classic approach to this salad. In Step 1, choose any kind of potato. Scrub and trim them as described; peel before or after cooking if you’d like. No need to heat the oven. Instead, cook the whole potatoes in the salted water until they’re fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on their size and type. After draining in Step 3, chop (or roughly mash them in the large bowl) and proceed with the recipe starting with Step 4.