Smashed Potatoes With Crisped Cheddar

At his Italian-influenced restaurant, City House, my friend Tandy Wilson likes to pair vegetables and potatoes with shards of frico, or skillet-fried cheese. When we grill around the pool at my house, I always make this dish for the kids. Crispy browned potatoes topped with crispy browned cheese... what kid's not gonna like that? This recipe is a great way to use up leftover "Arsh" Potatoes and an excuse to build up the habit of throwing a few potatoes into your ashes after every grilling session, rather than walking away and leaving your fire to die a lonely death.

Ingredients: 

6 Servings 

• 6 “Arsh” potatoes*

• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 

• Vegetable oil

• Kosher salt

*Use leftover mashed potatoes as a substitute for Arsh potatoes. 

Method: 

Refrigerate the potatoes until completely cold, about 2 hours. When ready to prepare, remove the potatoes from the refrigerator and set aside.

In a medium bowl, toss the cheddar and flour together. Set aside.

If cooking outdoors, prepare a hot fire and let it burn down to hot coals. Place a large cast-iron skillet directly on top of the coals. If cooking indoors, heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.

Add just enough oil to barely coat the bottom of the skillet. When the oil shimmers, place 2 potatoes in the skillet and gently mash with a spatula or the heel of your hand until it's flattened to about ½ inch or so. Season with salt and cook until golden brown on one side, 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip the potatoes, season with salt, and add two ⅓-cup portions of cheddar to the pan next to the potatoes, spreading the cheese to create an area about the same size as the flattened potato. Cook until the cheese has melted and is beginning to brown and crisp around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the cheese onto the potatoes and continue to cook until the potatoes are browned on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the potatoes to a platter, wipe the skillet clean, and repeat with the remaining potatoes and cheese. Serve.