Caldo Verde Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Aioli
The three stars of caldo verde, potato, kale and chouriço, roasted until crisp and served with garlicky aioli: a sharing plate made for cold beers.
Method
Scrub the baby potatoes and put them, unpeeled, in a 3 L pot. Cover with cold water by 3 cm and add the salt. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat and cook for from when it boils, until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain and leave in the colander for 3 minutes to steam dry.
Add in this stepBaby potatoes 450 gSalt 0.9 tsp
medium-high heatPreheat the oven to 230 °C. Space the potatoes out on a tray lined with baking paper and press each one with the bottom of a glass to flatten it to 1.5 cm. Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with the smoked paprika and salt.
Add in this stepOlive oil 1¾ tbspSmoked paprika ½ tspSalt 0.6 tsp
Roast in the oven at 230 °C for , until the bottoms and cracked edges start to turn golden and crisp.
ovenMeanwhile, tear the kale into bite-size pieces and rub it with the remaining olive oil, and cut the chouriço into 1 cm dice. Scatter both over and between the potatoes and return to the oven at 230 °C for more, until the kale edges are crisp and the chouriço sizzles. Kale burns fast, so watch the last 2 minutes.
Add in this stepKale 70 gOlive oil 1¼ tbspChouriço (or chorizo) 70 g
ovenPut the mayonnaise in a bowl, finely grate in the garlic and squeeze in the lemon juice, then stir to make the aioli.
Add in this stepGarlic cloves 1Mayonnaise 3 tbspLemon (for juice) ¼
Pile onto a plate while hot and serve with the aioli for dipping.
Cook's tip
Letting the boiled potatoes steam dry is what makes them crisp. Don't crowd the tray or they'll steam instead of roast; for 2 or more servings, use two trays and swap them halfway.
Cooking it at camp
Boil the potatoes at home, then at the campsite smash them in an oiled cast-iron pan or on the grill and crisp both sides. Fry the kale and chouriço in the same pan at the end. The aioli is mayonnaise-based, so keep it cold in the cooler.