I make mashed potatoes from all varieties of potatoes. Starchy potatoes are hard to cook in their jackets, and once they burst they soak up a lot of water rendering them unusable for mashing or anything else. It is easier to cook red potatoes in their jacket, although these too have to be uniform in size, which is not always feasible. Cooking potatoes in their jackets also takes considerably longer and this is why I prefer to peel and chop them first. Then I finish them one of two ways, with melted butter, egg yolk and a small amount of hot milk. Or sometimes with butter and a little bit more hot milk. I mash them first, add the rest of the ingredients and then whip them up with a handheld beater. Sloshing in cold milk or cream will make the mashed potatoes runny. Runny mashed potatoes are not very appetizing, so always melt the butter and heat up the milk or the cream before adding them to mashed potatoes. This allows the fat to coat the starch granules evenly, giving the mashed potatoes a much better texture. Gooey mashed potatoes are the result of over zealous mashing. Do not put the potatoes into a food processor, not unless you want to make glue. Restraint and gradual adding of hot liquid is necessary for a good texture. Restaurants add enormous quantities of fat to mashed potatoes what can I say, fat makes everything taste better. Instead of adding whipping cream or a lot of butter, I add an egg yolk to every two cups of chopped potatoes. This is a good trade off with the fat.
GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
4 cups peeled and chopped potatoes2 Tbsp melted butter
6 cloves of roasted garlic, mashed
2 egg yolks
2 Tbsp hot milk
salt and pepper to taste
• Peel and chop the potatoes.
• Place the potatoes in a pot.
• Cover the potatoes with water and bring to the boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer, cover pot and cook potatoes until just tender. Do not overcook.
• Immediately drain potatoes and place back in the pot.
• Mash them with a potato masher. Replace lid to keep potatoes warm.
• Meanwhile melt the butter and heat the milk. [Do this separately, because you are not yet sure how much of the milk you will add.]
• First, add the melted butter, the mashed roasted garlic and incorporate with the potato masher.
• Next, incorporate the egg yolks
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Start adding the hot milk one tablespoon at the time.
• Whip the mashed potatoes with a handheld beater, but do not overbeat.
• Serve immediately. 2-4 servings
