Mashed Potatoes
Few things in life are as universally loved as a bowl of mashed potatoes. Creamy, fluffy, and endlessly comforting, mashed potatoes are the ultimate side dish that pairs beautifully with almost anything. This mashed potatoes recipe will show you how to make perfectly smooth and flavourful mashed potatoes every time.
Ingredients
I got tired of plain old mashed potatoes seasoned with just salt and wanted something a little different. I love the creaminess and the texture of mashed potatoes, but it always tasted quite plain. I felt so silly the day I started adding other things to my mashed potato other than salt, why didn’t I think about it before?!
Potatoes, milk or cream, butter, chicken stock powder.
What’s my trick to the tastiest mashed potatoes?
Chicken stock powder. I’ve not tried it with other brands but Massel branded chicken stock powder mixed with mashed potatoes is a chef’s kiss. It gives it the perfect savoury flavour plain old salt doesn’t. I loved it so much the first time I did, I haven’t gone back.
Can I make any substitutions or additions?
You sure can. If you don’t like the idea of adding chicken stock powder, feel free to keep it plain with salt.
Cheese – when my partner was growing up, his family liked adding cheese to their mashed potato.
Garlic – raw or roasted garlic mixed in with mashed potato is so good. I remember my yiayia used to make a Greek recipe called Skordalia – boiled potatoes with olive oil, raw garlic, vinegar or lemon juice and some salt. It’s served a lot as dip, however it can be served as a side to your dinner. I used to bread it across some bread and make it into a sandwich.
Cream – if you want the mashed potato to be even more indulgent, swap the milk for cream.
What type of potato should I use?
If you’re in Australia, Sebago potatoes are the choice for mashed potato. It’s the ones covered in dirt, they’re usually called Brushed Potatoes. They’re the most widely available and cost-effective potato to use. Brushed potatoes are a great starchy potato, so they become soft and fluffy once they’re cooked, which is perfect for mashed potato. Any starchy or all-rounder potato from your part of the world would be perfect for mashed potato. Other all-rounder potatoes available in Australia are Kestrel, Crème Royal and Carisma potatoes that are also perfect options to make mashed potato.
Avoid overly waxy potatoes, as they can produce chunky mash since they’re really good at holding their shape. Waxy potatoes are good for stews or potato salads. Potato types will vary depending on the region you’re located in, so do some research on the popular potatoes in your region and whether they’re waxy or starchy/floury.
My Best Tips
Chop those potatoes into small pieces. As tempting as it is to through them into the pot whole, it will take longer to boil.
Begin cooking the potatoes in cold water to ensure even cooking. Starting with hot or boiling water can cause the outsides to cook and soften while the centres remain hard and crunchy.
Start pouring in the milk into the mashed potato in batches. While I have the desired consistency that I like, you might like the consistency a little bit thicker or thinner.
If the potatoes seem dry when reheated, add a small amount of melted butter or milk and stir to improve their consistency.
Mashed Potato
Ingredients
- 1 kg starchy potatoes Sebago/Brushed Potatoes – Note 1
- 125 ml milk Note 2
- 30 grams butter
- 1 tbsp chicken stock powder sub salt
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes, slice them into smaller pieces, place them in a large pot with the salt and fill the pot with enough water to cover the potatoes. Place on a high heat, put the lid on, and boil until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain the water from the pot with a colander, and place the colander over the pot so that the potatoes steam. Note 3
- Place the milk and butter into a microwave safe dish and heat in the microwave for 90 seconds or until the milk is hot. Note 4
- Add the potatoes back into the pot, add in the chicken stock powder and then pour in the hot milk/melted butter and mash until desired consistency.
- Serve with your favourite main dish.
Video
Notes
Use a starchy potato like Sebago/Brushed potatoes or all-rounders like Kestrel, Crème Royal or Carisma potatoes. Starchy/floury potatoes = fluffy, creamier mash; waxy = chunky and dense mash. Make sure to slice the potatoes into smaller pieces before placing into cold water so that it doesn’t take so long to cook and they all cook evenly. Note 2
Add in the milk in stages until the desired consistency is reached. This amount of milk works for me but you may like it differently. Sub with cream if you’d like it extra rich and creamy; if you make the swap, also add the cream in small batches. You can sub for dairy alternatives, light or skim milk/cream. Note 3 This ensures that any leftover water evaporates before mashing. Note 4 I like to warm up my milk so that everything is at least room temp or hotter. Adding something really cold to something really hot increases the chance of the mashed potatoes seizing and it turning into gluey or gummy mash.Â
