Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

spinach & herb smashed topatoes...

Sometimes, a girl's just gotta go with a big ol' bowl of comfort food for dinner and for me, that's mashed potatoes. Yes, it's a stereotype: girl of Irish descent loves potatoes. Can you blame me? But these aren't the mashed potatoes of my childhood, made with starchy russet potatoes and lots of milk and butter. Nope. Mine are made with the less starchy, waxier red potato, are much chunkier (thus "smashed" instead of "mashed") and they're not just potatoes (thus "topatoes"- a term that entered my vocabulary back in my college days). With a friend sharing dinner and football tonight, one of us had the vegetarian version, while the other bowl was topped with diced turkey bacon. It's like a hug for the soul... or your stomach. You know what I mean.

Spinach & Herb Smashed Topatoes

... with turkey bacon

Ingredients:
2 large red potatoes, skins on, diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 cup of cauliflower, chopped
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 ounces of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 Tbs. goat cheese (cream cheese would work well here)
1 Tbs. sour cream (I usually have the fat-free stuff in my fridge)
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped (fresh is best, but dried would work)
1 Tbs. basil, chopped (fresh really is best here)
1 tsp. dill (fresh or dried, whatever you have on hand)
1 Tbs. chives, chopped (I usually just snip my chives with kitchen shears 'cause it's easier than using a knife)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large pot over high heat, cover the potatoes, parsnip, and cauliflower with water, add 1 Tbs. salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook the vegs until fork tender, about 13-15 minutes. (Stating the Obvious: The smaller everything is diced, the quicker it will cook.) Drain the vegs, and return everything to the hot pot (now over low heat) before adding the olive oil and spinach, covering with a lid to allow the spinach to wilt and heat through. When the spinach has wilted, lightly mash the vegs with a fork (NOT a potato masher), leaving things relatively chunky. Stir in the goat cheese (or cream cheese) and sour cream, then finish with the herbs and salt & pepper. To keep things vegetarian, stop here and serve the smashed topatoes as is. If, however, you want to take that extra step, top the smashed topatoes with some crispy bacon; in this case, I used a slice of turkey bacon, diced and crisped in the toaster oven.

Enjoy!