For all you potato lovers out there, let me introduce you to the easiest, most delicious and idiot-proof way of making potatoes, ever.

You literally take a bag of potatoes.

Boil them until they’re tender.

Drain, then lay them out in rows on a baking sheet.

Smash ’em.

Season ’em.

Bake ’em.

Eat ’em.

In that order.

Let’s begin.

Place potatoes in a pot of heavily salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender but not overly soft. It’s ok if you cook them too long. This recipe is very forgiving.

While the potatoes are boiling, oil a baking sheet with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. (I really need a new baking sheet…)

Chop up some garlic (I could probably use a new cutting board too).

Put the garlic in a bowl and add some evoo. Yum.

When the potatoes are fork-tender, drain them and line them up on your oiled baking sheet.

Here’s the fun part: smash them with a blunt object. You could use a potato masher if you’re fancy, or you can just use the bottom of a water glass.

Spoon a bit of the garlic-oil mixture over each smashed potato. Yum.

Season them with some salt, pepper, and whatever other spices you’d like (I used garlic powder and cayenne), and stick them in a hot oven until the edges are golden-brown and crispy.

These go well as a side to basically everything. Or you can pile them onto a plate with a squirt of ketchup and eat them one by one in front of your TV and call it dinner.

But actually, the best part about this recipe is that these potatoes are a gift that keeps on giving. Say you somehow manage to have some leftovers. What you can do with them the next morning is magical. Watch.

Heat up a cast iron skillet with some olive oil.

Add a single layover of day-old smashed potatoes, pressing each down with the back of a spatula. Cook for a few minutes until the bottoms are golden and crispy. At this point the potatoes are truly irresistible, so I won’t blame you if you snitch one or two from the pan before moving on to the next step.

Crack a few eggs in the crevices, cook for a few minutes until the eggs are barely set.

Season with some salt and pepper, and voila! A perfect breakfast of champions, all in under 10 minutes.

Printable recipe below.

Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients
1 bag small potatoes
Salt
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pepper & other spices, to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 250C
2. In a large pot, add potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil, generously salting the water. Drain potatoes when they are fork tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Oil a baking sheet. Line potatoes up on the baking sheet. Avoid overcrowding.
4. Using a potato masher or the bottom of a cup, smash each potato until about 1cm thick.
5. In a separate bowl, combine minced garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Spoon some of the mixture over each smashed potato. Season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until edges are brown and crispy.