Crispy Cracked Potatoes

potatoes

I ate the most wonderful baby potatoes at Graffiato. They were tiny, cracked, crispy, tossed with parmesan cheese and spiked with lemon. They were one of the best things we ordered that night. Once my hunger for them struck again, I knew that I had to recreate them. Although I deduce Graffiato’s potatoes to be deep fried, this version is baked to make the potatoes a little bit easier to cook and a little bit healthier. These potatoes are a crowd-pleasing, easy, and unique side dish.

boiling potatoes

To make these crispy, cracked potatoes, start by bringing a pot of salted water to a boil. To the pot, add in some teeny, tiny, baby potatoes. I used new potatoes, but Graffiato used a variety of multi-colored ones, which was nice. While the potatoes simmer, preheat your oven to 450ºF. Let the potatoes cook in the water until they can easily be pierced with a fork.

cracked potatoes

Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a baking sheet. Using the heel of a fork or any other flat object, press down on each potato until it pops open and looks like PacMan. Toss the potatoes with a generous amount of olive oil, and season them with salt and pepper. Bake the potatoes for approximately 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown and crisp.

parmesan potatoes

When you remove the potatoes from the oven, grate over a generous amount of parmesan cheese. Toss the potatoes so they are evenly coated in the cheese. Just before serving, drizzle the potatoes with lemon juice for a sharp and balanced flavor. These potatoes are delicious hot out of the oven, cold out of the fridge, or reheated, so don’t be afraid to make plenty of them. I can pop them into my mouth one by one and be in heaven!

Shopping list:

  • Baby potatoes
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Lemon- 1
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Comments

Crispy Cracked Potatoes — 9 Comments

  1. OMG They were delicious!! Have done the little potatoes very similar but only tossed rosemary on them, this was a great addition to my recipes.

  2. The Pioneer Woman makes a version of these that she calls Crash Hot Potatoes. Here is the link:

    http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

    It is different in that she uses bigger red potatoes and smashes them more. She used rosemary which I am not fond of so I think I will try them with lemon like your version.

    Whatever version is used these potatoes are the bomb! I think I will try them with Man-Pleasing Chicken.

    Love your blog!

    • Thanks so much for your comment! I ate these potatoes with Man-Pleasing Chicken too, and they paired really well. I have also made Pioneer Woman’s potates and posted about it here. These are definitely similar, but they cook faster and the smaller size and different flavors turn them into a new experience.

  3. Yum! Loved this recipe – has definitely been added to our regular rotation. As a make ahead tip, I boil the potatoes and stick them in the fridge then when you’re ready to put together dinner, just follow the rest of the recipe. Thank you Pam!

  4. I made these for my family and they were absolutely delicious! Even my 2 year old gobbled them up. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!

  5. So I am going to make these tonight with a slight twist. Instead of drizzling with lemon, I plan to drizzle with truffle oil just before serving. This is a shout out to a restaurant in Denver that serves parmesan truffle fries that my family loves.

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