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Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food -- they are filling and hearty and they stick to your ribs. The most important thing about them is their texture -- if you don't mash them enough, they are too chunky, but if you stir them too much, they are glue-y. With a little care, though, you can easily create the ultimate mashed potato. Here's how:
1. Start with a great mashing potato, like Yukon gold.
2. Boil 2 to 3 potatoes, with the skin on, in salted water for about 18 minutes, until they are easily pierced with a fork, then strain and peel them.
3. Melt 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a sauté pan over medium-low heat, and cook until the butter is light brown and smells nutty.
4. Then whisk in 2 tablespoons of cream, 2 tablespoons of milk, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and a little salt, grated nutmeg, and ground white pepper.
5. Mash the potatoes with a fork and stir the hot liquid into the mash.
The beauty of mashed potatoes is that you can do lots of variations. This is where it gets fun:
- Try adding cheese -- say, 2 tablespoons of grated Dutch gouda, Vermont cheddar, goat cheese, or Parmesan.
- Or, for a Japanese twist add a touch of wasabi.
- If you want to get really creative, you could follow the recipe above, using half potato and half parsnip, and add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with the butter and cream.
- You can even create a mash using no potatoes for a wonderful side dish that serves up sweet and sour flavors -- replace the potatoes with half celery root and half Granny Smith apples, and stir in chopped thyme in the final step.
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