Discovery: I really, really like caviar. But I do not like very much of it, because as delicious as it is, it’s also fish eggs, and my psyche can only handle eating so many unhatched fish babies. So when we opened our little tin of caviar on New Year’s Eve, despite the fact that there were only maybe two big tablespoons’ worth of eggs in it, we only ended up eating about half.
I figured that was fine; we’d just eat the rest later, but then Francesca and I were talking about caviar on the phone while I was driving around running errands (we don’t usually talk about things like caviar, I promise; I’m not quite sure how this happened) and she googled “how long does caviar last” for me, and it turns out it’s fine when it’s all sealed away in a jar, but once you open it you better get on it.
So I went home and got on it.
This time, though, I thought I’d try to recreate the eighty-dollar baked potato I had in St. Bart’s once (which I obviously can’t say was “worth the price,” because that’s crazy, but it was really good). I had a few little red potatoes in the refrigerator, and so I decided to do a kind of fun presentation in which you boil them whole and then press down on them gently with a fork until they’re just broken open (so not technically “smashed,” but that’s the visual effect you end up with). Add a ridiculous amount of butter and sour cream and a dollop of good caviar, and you have the most decadent snack ever.
SMASHED POTATOES WITH SOUR CREAM AND CAVIAR
(Technically serves 6 as an appetizer, but I needed to eat two of these. So let’s say it serves 3.)
What You Need:
- 6 medium-sized red-skinned potatoes
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp sour cream
- 1 heaping tablespoon best-quality caviar
- Chopped parsley or scallions for garnish
- Sea salt
What You Do:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add whole potatoes, and let cook about 25 minutes, or until a fork goes in easily. Drain and let cool on a plate for a few seconds.
- Working with one potato at a time, carefully press down on them using the back of the fork, so the potato splits open but doesn’t flatten too much. Tuck a little butter into the cavity.
- Evenly divide the sour cream and caviar, and spoon onto potatoes as shown below. Sprinkle over a little sea salt (not too much; the caviar is plenty salty), and top with chopped parsley or scallions for garnish.
