Crazy-good!

This salad is like nothing you have had before. Start with crispy, delicious grilled smashed potatoes seasoned with a little smoky Spanish paprika and layer on shredded manchego cheese, sauteed onions, chorizo, avocado, fresh tomatoes, roasted red peppers and chopped romaine. Squeeze a bit of lime over the salad and garnish with salsa and sour cream. I bet you will not have any leftovers!

JP's highest rating ever

This salad is my husband's new favorite. A week ago his new favorite was Flank steak, tomato and watermelon salad, but as of this week, this is his favorite. JP rated this salad a record-breaking 9.9. This has never happened before and I've cooked this man thousands of meals! Actually, when I do a little calculating, the number is probably more like 10,000 meals. And that is astonishing in itself!

Potatoes

You can use a variety of potatoes for this salad. Miniature waxy potatoes are best. Look for Yukon gold, red or blue potatoes that are 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" in diameter. Or you can use sweet potatoes or a combination of sweet potatoes and waxy potatoes. If you plan to use sweet potatoes, buy long skinny ones that are about 2" in diameter and slice them about 1 1/2" thick. Sweet potatoes are a good option for those on a paleo diet.

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Smashing the potatoes

Smashing the potatoes is fun. Just don't get too carried away and over smash them. Put the cooked potatoes on a clean dish towel, cover with more dish towel and use the heel of your hand to smash down on the potatoes until they are about 1/2" thick. You will feel the potato give way as you press down. The goal is for the potato to stay roughly intact, but if you lose a few bits don't worry about it. Go ahead and grill the bits too.

Grill or roast

I prefer to grill the potatoes, but you can also roast them in a hot 450 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. If you grill them you will need a grill pan like this one.

A word on potatoes

Potatoes get a bad rap for their high-glycemic load. There is really a lot of great nutrition in a potato, but there are several tricks to reducing the glycemic load when eating potatoes. This recipe uses all the tricks. See my post on 10 ways to reduce the glycemic load of potatoes. All 10 tricks make eating potatoes not only healthier, but more delicious.

Variations

Once you make a smashed potato salad, you will think of all kinds of great variations, like my BLT smashed potato salad. Use the technique in this recipe to create delicious, economical, vegetable-rich, one-dish meals. I'm thinking Greek smashed potato salad, Cobb smashed potato salad, Chicken caesar smashed potato salad, Taco smashed potato salad.... Once you get the basic recipe down, you will come up with all kinds of smashed potato salads on your own.

Green onion garnish

Check out my post on How to make 3 green onion garnishes. These garnishes will make your smashed potato salads look extra cute, and will boost the salad's overall nutrition. These three garnishes are quick and easy and you will find many many ways to use them.

More smashed potato salads

If you enjoyed this salad, we have two more smashed potato salads you will enjoy: BLT Smashed Potato Salad and Smashed Potato, Steak and Chimichurri Salad. 

Crazy-good smashed potato salad

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Crazy good salad that starts with grilled smashed potatoes and is layered with sauteed onions and chorizo, avocado, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and romaine lettuce. Add a bit of salsa and sour cream if you will.

• Author: Something New For Dinner
• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hours 5 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1.5 pounds miniature yukon gold, red, blue or sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 T
• 1 onion, cut into 16 wedges
• Salt & pepper
• 1 t Spanish paprika (pimenton de la Vera), divided
• 1/2 pound fresh chorizo, crumbled
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 T grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated manchego cheese
• 1 head romaine lettuce sliced in 1/2″ slices,
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 1 cup cherry or teardrop tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (jarred or homemade)
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 1 handful green onion curls
• 1 lime cut in 8 wedges
• Salsa (optional garnish)
• Sour cream (optional garnish)

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Instructions

1. Scrub potatoes leaving the skin on, unless you are using sweet potatoes. If using sweet potatoes peel them and slice into 1 1/2″ disks. Bring a pot of salted water to boil, drop the potatoes in and reduce heat to medium. Cook potatoes until they can just be pierced with a fork, usually 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. Sweet potatoes will take less time than waxy potatoes. When the potatoes are done, put in a colander to drain.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. When oil is hot add chorizo and sauté for about 5 minutes, until done. Remove from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Add onions to the pan and sauté until done, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/2 t Spanish paprika and salt and pepper. Remove from heat and combine with chorizo. Set aside.
4. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle spread a clean dish towel on the counter and put the potatoes on one half of a dish towel a few inches apart from each other. Cover the potatoes with the other half of the dish towel. Using the heel of your hand smash down on each of the potatoes until they are about 1/2″ thick.
5. Heat the grill to medium high. If you are cooking sweet potatoes turn down the grill just a smidge. Put the garlic and olive oil in a small bowl. Dunk each smashed potato briefly in the oil and then place on a grill pan set on a cookie sheet to catch any drips of olive oil. Scoop up any bits of garlic left and scatter over the smashed potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and the remaining 1/2 t Spanish paprika.
6. Put the grill pan on the grill and grill 6 to 8 minutes on each side. When you turn the potatoes, season with more salt and pepper and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. When you remove them from the grill immediately sprinkle with shredded manchego cheese.
7. Arrange the potatoes on the bottom of a scooped serving platter or very shallow salad bowl. Top with a layer of sauteed onions and chorizo. Surround with lettuce and a final topping of avocado, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, green onions and cilantro. Serve with squeezes of lime, salsa and sour cream are optional.