Meal Prep Sunday: A Smashed Potato + Chickpea Hash For Radiant Skin

Welcome to Meal Prep Sunday, where you'll make a single, healthy recipe with serious bodily benefits, whether it makes your skin glow, helps soothe your gut, boosts your immunity, or more! Because it gets boring to eat the same thing every day, you'll do the bulk of the prep on the first day—and every day after that, there will be one small, five-minute-or-less tweak that will transform the leftovers into a new, amazing meal.

Potatoes, contrary to some of the bad press they get, are actually an amazing whole food—chock full of vitamins B6 and C, manganese, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants (particularly the ones with the red skins). Vitamin B6 helps with new cell formation, making it essential for brain, cardiovascular, nervous system, and skin health. When combined with dark leafy greens and chickpeas, like in this red potato hash from the book Simple Green Suppers, you're making a meal that's rich in plant-based protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Author Susie Middleton goes on to give us ideas for eating this radiant skin-inducing dish in new ways throughout the week. Get the details below.

A simple, comforting supper with just a few ingredients, this dish was inspired by a freshly dug batch of Red Gold potatoes from the garden. Nutty-tasting yellow-fleshed Red Golds are delicious, but of course not required, in this recipe—any baby potato will do! The potatoes get boiled first, then crushed and sautéed with the other ingredients for a delicious crispy finish. I also love that this recipe showcases another tasty way to use chickpeas as a protein: in a rustic hash.

Serves 4

Method

1. Put the potatoes and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a large saucepan and cover with a generous amount of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until just tender, about 25 minutes. Drain.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet over medium heat (you will have to do this in two batches or in two separate pans). Add the chickpeas and cook, shaking or stirring, until golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the greens and ¼ teaspoon of the salt and cook, tossing or stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Move the greens and chickpeas to one side of the pan and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Let it melt and then add the whole boiled potatoes. Using a potato masher or spatula, crush the potatoes into large pieces (you don't want to mash them completely; just break them up), then sprinkle them with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and several grinds of black pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir everything together. Press down on the mixture with a spatula and cook until the bottom is somewhat browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the hash over in pieces and cook again until the other side is somewhat brown, 2 to 3 minutes.