Mashed potatoes can be made for dinner with stew or as a side with steak. The most crucial thing in making mashed potatoes is using the right potatoes. You can use fir in between because it is multipurpose or starchy because its starch produces a light, fluffy and smooth mash that quickly absorbs milk and butter. Waxy potatoes are difficult to break up, so they won’t get perfectly soft, and the mash turns out quite stodgy. Wash the potatoes to remove any dirt from the skin. Use the potato peeler to remove the skin.
You can make mash with the skin on if you want. Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces (you can boil them whole, but cutting them reduces the amount they take to cook). Make sure the cubes cut are of similar size so they cook evenly and don’t end up with some cooked and some raw in the middle. Give the potatoes a quick rinse and place them in a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with cold water to cover the potatoes and place them on medium heat.
Cook them with cold water to give the potatoes the same temperature as outside and give them a long time for starch to solve. Cook the potatoes until extremely tender and nearly falling apart. The cooking time will depend on the size of your potatoes. Drain the water in a colander and shake to remove as much water as possible. Place the cooked potatoes back in the same saucepan and keep them in heat until there is no longer much steam.
Don’t worry if your potatoes are falling apart. It means they are well cooked and will marsh smoothly. Use a potato masher (or potato riser) to mash the potatoes. Begin mashing the potatoes without adding butter or milk; break them up until they look crumbly. Season with salt, then start to add room-temperature butter. Add small amounts of butter as you continue to mash. Use room temperature butter to not cool down the potatoes, making the mash incredibly gloopy and unappetizing. Continue to add butter and mash. Warm up your milk (cold milk changes the consistency of the potatoes).
Add small amounts of warm milk and continue mashing until satisfied. Lastly, please taste it; it should be silky, smooth, creamy, and fluffy. Taste the seasoning if it needs more salt or pepper. Spoon the mash into a bowl, smooth it down with a spoon, and then add chives for decoration.
Instructions;
- 700-800g | 1.5 lb Starchy Potatoes
- 100g | 1/2 Cup Butter
- 60ml | 1/4 Cup Warm Milk
- Salt + Pepper
Instructions;
- Clean the potatoes and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin. Cut the potatoes up into small cubes and place them into a saucepan. Fill with cold water and place over medium-high heat to bring to a boil.
- Boil the potatoes for 20-30 minutes or until very tender and nearly falling apart. Drain the water using a colander and return the potatoes to the saucepan.
- Keep on the heat until there are no longer large amounts of steam. Remove from the heat and mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper, and gradually add the butter in small amounts.
- Ensure the butter is at room temperature so it doesn’t bring down the temperature of the potatoes.
- Once all of the butter has been incorporated, start to add the warm milk in small amounts until you are happy with the consistency; you may not need to use all of the milk. Check for seasoning and serve.
