Umami Burger Smooshed Potatoes

Umami burger smooshed potatoes on the left

Last weekend, before the NKOTB Town Hall, we went to dinner at Umami Burger in Santa Monica. Fabulous food in a quaint environment attached to Fred Segal. It's almost hard to find its so simplistic in decor and signage.

I ordered the truffle burger with truffle oil and hand crafted truffle cheese. It was mouth watering perfection, hands down the best hamburger I have ever had. We each ordered a different side to try, even the "secret" off menu cheesy tots.

I order something called "smooshed potatoes, I asked the waitress "What are they?" she said they took red potatoes and cooked them, smashed them down and then fried them again. I wasn't so sure but ordered anyways. They were fantastic! I fell in love and immediately thought about replicating them at home.

Definitely hope to go back to Umami burger again. Great food, excellent service and great pricing.

I came home and on Monday did a Google search for Umami Burger smooshed potatoes. I found this blog with smashed potatoes and figured out the main cooking steps. She recommended using malt vinegar but I wasn't so sure that was a ingredient in the potatoes I had. So I followed her cooking instructions and then seasoned them to my liking.

before baking

the finished product

Here is the steps I took:

preheat oven to 400 degrees

Boil 15-20 small red potatoes

Lay on a paper towel to cool

when potatoes are room temperature take your palm and smoosh them down, careful to not completely mash them.

on a lined baking sheet lay them out and drizzle with olive oil

then salt with kosher salt, parsley and pepper

bake until golden brown and crispy on the outside. About 20-30 mins.

Makes a great side dish for your dinner or a great snack. You could pan fry these in oil. We are trying to be more healthy and so I baked ours.