I know that the name of this recipe isn’t particularly appetizing, but you’ve got to give this potatoes a chance- they are one of the best side dishes! The concept of the recipe is to cook the potatoes first in boiling water until they soften, and then to mash them by hand (in order to expand their surface area) and then finally to broil in them in the oven- they will come out especially crispy and tasty. If you planning to serve these potatoes as a side dish to a main course then the amounts listed below should suffice for 6 people, but if you are serving this recipe to people who prefer the side dishes (over the meat or chicken), then this recipe should be enough for 4 people, and maybe even less.

Danya talks about her mom’s oven which somehow miraculously produces crispy on the outside-soft on the inside potatoes. Every Friday night dinner at the Weiner family household, these potatoes make their appearance, and every Friday night someone asks Danya’s mom- “how did you make them?” And the answer is consecutively, “it’ not me, it’s the oven”.

After many attempts to recreate the recipe, Danya came up with the ingenious process of “cook-mash-season-broil”, and the imitation matched the original. Today, the Weiner family makes their potatoes ‘Danya Style’.

One last tip from Danya’s kitchen- season the potatoes with McCormick’s “Garlic Pepper” seasoning- it gives the potatoes a slight piquant flavor which really makes these potatoes irresistible.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

3 pounds mini potatoes or small yellow potatoes (if using yellow potatoes, add 10 minutes to the boiling time)

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

McCormick’s Garlic Pepper seasoning

Preparation:

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with water, add a tablespoon of kosher salt and bring to a boil.
2. Boil potatoes for about 20 minutes until soft (but not too soft- they shouldn’t become mashed. In the meantime, preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Drain the potatoes, and let cool for about 15 minutes.
4. Place the potatoes on a lined baking sheet and use your fingers to smash each potato. If you are in a rush and the potatoes haven’t cooled enough to handle, you can do this step with a potato masher, just make sure not to “over-mash” the potatoes.
5. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and generously season with salt and garlic pepper.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the potatoes are crisp and golden.