Stiff Mashed Potatoes – Reboot
This sounds so simple, almost a how to boil water thing. In reality it can be quite the challenge. Especially, whence these are to be used as a ingredient to another dish.
From the archives of 2008 …
From Wikipedia:
Mashed potato (British English) or mashed potatoes (American English and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash, is a dish prepared by mashing boiled, peeled potatoes. Milk, butter and garlic are frequently used in preparation and it is frequently whipped at the end. The dish is usually a side dish to meat and/or vegetables.
Recipes for making the dish started appearing in 1747 with an entry in The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse. Dehydrated and frozen mashed potatoes are available in many supermarkets.
Mashed potato may be used as an intermediary ingredient for other dishes such as dumplings and gnocchi, in which case the potatoes may be baked or boiled, and may or may not have dairy or seasoning added.
The use of “floury” types of potatoes is recommended, although “waxy” potatoes are sometimes used for a different texture. There are a multitude of “floury” types, but the most commonly known include russet, golden wonder, and red rascal potatoes. Butter, vegetable oil, milk and/or cream are usually added to improve flavour and texture, and the potatoes are seasoned with salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs and spices. Popular ingredients and seasonings include: garlic, cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, crisp onion or spring onion, caramelised onion, mayonnaise, mustard, horseradish, spices such as nutmeg, and chopped herbs such as parsley.
One French variation adds egg yolk for pommes duchesse or Duchess potatoes; piped through a pastry tube into wavy ribbons and rosettes, brushed with butter and lightly browned. Pomme purée (potato puree) uses considerably more butter than normal mashed potato – up to one part butter for every two parts potato. In low-calorie or non-dairy variations, milk, cream and butter may be replaced by soup stock or broth. Aloo Bharta, an Indian sub-continent variation, uses chopped onions, mustard (oil, paste or seeds), chili pepper, coriander leaves and other spices.
Mashed potato can be served as a side dish, and is often served with sausages in the British Isles, where they are known as bangers and mash. Mashed potato can be an ingredient of various other dishes, including shepherd’s and cottage pie, pierogi, colcannon, dumplings, potato pancakes, potato croquettes and gnocchi. Particularly runny mashed potatoes are called mousseline potatoes.
In the United Kingdom, the cold mashed potato is mixed with fresh eggs and then fried until crisp to produce the potato cake. This dish is thought to have originated in Cornwall and is a popular breakfast item. When instead combined with meat and other leftover vegetables, the fried dish is known as bubble and squeak.
A popular accompaniment to mashed potatoes in the United States is gravy. The most common forms of gravy paired with mashed potatoes are beef gravy or turkey gravy, though vegetable gravy is becoming more common as the vegetarian and vegan trends see a rise in popularity.
A potato masher is a utensil which can be used to prepare the potatoes, as is a potato ricer. They may also be whipped with an electric hand mixer, or with sufficient boiling, can be mashed effectively with a durable wooden spoon and brute force.
I’ll be making these as a filling for Perogies, so I’ll want them quite stiff. I will, in my perogi post, consider some add ins for texture and flavor , but for this some high starch russets, salt, water and dairy will be the stars.
A couple of tips about the production:
- Drain well:
- I usually let them sit about 5 minutes or so to completely drain or even drain well and put them back in the warm pot for a few minutes to make sure all liquid is evaporated.
- Mash by Hand:
- For the very best mashed potatoes, use a hand masher or a potato ricer. You can get buttery smooth creamy mashed potatoes mashing by hand. DO NOT OVER-MIX, you will get GLUE!
- Butter is Your Friend:.
- There are places you can skimp on butter and mashed potatoes is not one of them. I like to use salted butter and lots of it (but you can use unsalted season yourself). Butter helps your mashed potatoes get a creamy, buttery texture.
- Heat Your Cream:
- Heat your milk/cream before adding. This keeps the potatoes hot and absorbs better. Add cream/milk a little a a time to get the right consistency.
I have used sour cream as part of the dairy, I find buttermilk can add a special zing to the taste, and roasted garlic mash can be a meal by itself..
Stiff Mashed Potatoes - Reboot
Ingredients
- 4 lb Potatoes Russet (High Starch)
- 4 tbsp Butter Melted
- 2/3 cup Heavy Cream
- Salt and Pepper To taste
Instructions
- Wash, peel and water potatoes
- In a large pot add COLD water and salt, (should taste like sea water)
- Add potatoes, and cook over medium (simmer) heat until fork tender, (~ 15 minutes)
- Warm dairy
- Drain potatoes and return to pot, rest for 5 minutes to complete drying
- Add dairy small amounts at a time and mash
- Check your consistency, season, and taste.
Nutrition
Filed
under: European, Ingredient, Pub Food, ReBoot, Vegetarian
Comments are closed for this post.
You must be logged in to post a comment.