Balsamic Roast Crushed Potatoes with Mushrooms

This fabulous Julie Le Clerc dish features layers of delicious, savoury flavours. It is a wonderful side dish to enjoy with red meat or chicken.

Serves 8-10

20g Naturbosco dried porcini mushrooms, Sabarot Forestière mushrooms or Sabarot Cèpes
1.5kg medium agria potatoes, scrubbed
Extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
3-4 Tbsp Giusti balsamic vinegar
Sal de Añana Spring Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Pons Black Truffle infused EVO, to finish (optional)
3 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley

Place porcini in a small bowl, cover with 1 cup boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain the porcini and roughly chop. Reserve the liquid.

Meanwhile, cook whole potatoes in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 15-20 minutes or until just tender. Preheat oven to 200°C.

Drain potatoes and leave to steam dry for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a large, lightly oiled oven pan. Press each potato firmly to half squash (the base of a drinking glass works well for this job – the aim is to lightly crush the potatoes).

Drizzle potatoes generously with EVO and balsamic, season with salt and pepper, and scatter with porcini, garlic and thyme. Pour over the porcini soaking liquid.

Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown. Drizzle with truffle EVO to finish, if desired. Scatter with parsley and serve immediately.

Recipe by Julie Le Clerc