Roasted potatoes with a mashed-potato crust

With just 3 simple ingredients, these mashed potato-crusted roasted potatoes are super easy to make and a delicious way to carry out this cold December. While they take a while to bake and freeze, they can be prepped ahead of time because they can stay in the freezer for up to 4 or 5 hours. When the potatoes are pulled out of the freezer, they are then shaken vigorously with olive oil. This breaks up the outside layer and allows it to cover the potatoes, creating a super crispy mashed-potato-like crust. They are then baked to crisp up the outside and reheat the inside.

Provided in the recipe are two flavoring options, but the potatoes will work with just about any flavoring of choice. Once they are cooked, simply season to taste with one of the provided options or any other blend of seasonings. 

Ingredients:

Large Yukon Gold Potatoes (5lbs feeds around 6-8 people)

Kosher Salt

Olive Oil 

Seasoning:

Some options include:

Garlic Parm: Parmesan Cheese, Garlic Powder, Chopped Parsley

Lemon Pepper: Ground Black Pepper and Lemon Juice

Store-bought or premade seasoning mixes

Instructions:

1. Begin to boil a large pot of heavily salted water.
2. Peel the potatoes and cut them in half lengthwise, then lengthwise again, and then cut into bite-sized pieces. The final result should be roughly 1-1.5-inch cubes.
3. Once the water is boiling, add a splash of olive oil to the water in order to prevent the potatoes from clumping together, and then place the potatoes in the boiling water. 
4. Boil for about 10-12 minutes until the potatoes are soft when poked with a fork. 
5. Remove the potatoes from the water and allow them to cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes before putting the sheet with the potatoes into the freezer. Allow them to freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. 
6. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
7. Remove the potatoes from the freezer. If the potatoes are rock solid when you remove them, allow them a few minutes to warm up. 
8. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and add a generous amount of olive oil. (If you have a lot of potatoes, this should be done in batches.) Cover the bowl with an upside-down plate and shake vigorously until all the potatoes appear to be coated in a mashed potato-like mixture. If they are too dry (not breaking down and coating themselves), allow them to warm up for a few more minutes and/or add more olive oil. 
9. Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread them out (very few potatoes should be touching.)
10. Bake for about 45 minutes at 400, then turn the heat up to 425 and turn on convection. 
11. After around 10 minutes on convection, the bottom of the potatoes should be dark brown and crispy. When this happens, flip the potatoes with a spatula and drizzle a little more olive oil before placing them back in the oven for about 10 more minutes until the other side is the same dark brown color, and then remove from the oven. 

Seasoning and Serving:

A key part of these potatoes is that they can be served in many different ways. When I made them, I prepared them 3 ways: garlic parmesan, lemon pepper and Cajun (store-bought seasoning). Regardless of the seasoning choice, all potatoes should be salted to taste after they are removed from the oven (be careful with salting and then adding store-bought seasonings, as many contain additional salt)

Garlic Parm:

Toss potatoes with salt, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, and finely chopped parsley to taste.

Lemmon Pepper:

Toss the potatoes with salt, a few spoonfuls of lemon juice, and fresh cracked black pepper.