Smashed Garlic Potatoes with Rosemary

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds red or Yukon Idaho® potatoes (2- 2½˝ diameter)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4-6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, or your favorite herbs, like sage or thyme, or a mix!
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Chili pepper or Aleppo chili flakes, to taste

Directions:

1. Place whole potatoes in a large pot and cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer until fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes depending on size. You want these fairly tender, so they are easy to smash. Drain and let cool. You can do this ahead of time and store in the fridge.
2. Heat oven to 400°F.
3. Smash the potatoes until relatively flat, about an inch thick, using a potato masher or bottom of a skillet.
4. Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and herbs. Swirl the oil around until the herbs are fragrant and the garlic is golden. Remove garlic and herbs from oil and set aside. 
5. Add the smashed potatoes to the pan, leaving room to maneuver. You may need to fry the potatoes in two batches depending on the size of your pan. Season the top of the potatoes with salt and pepper.
6. Fry each side of the potatoes until crispy and deeply golden, about 5-7 minutes, adding more oil if needed.
7. Keep the first batch warm in the oven while frying the second batch. When done, pile all the potatoes in the skillet.
8. Chop up the golden garlic cloves and sprinkle with the herbs over the potatoes.
9. Sprinkle with chili flakes and serve.