Mashed potatoes are a classic home-cooked dish. Everyone likes them, especially children. And it’s the ideal comfort food, maybe because it reminds us of our childhood.
Which potatoes to choose to make good mashed potatoes
To prepare good mashed potatoes, the choice of potato is essential: they must be “old” (new ones make for a sticky result) and have a floury texture. Once cooked, these potatoes are tender and coarse-grained, unlike the salad potatoes, which are more “waxy.”
Ingredients
White flesh potatoes (Russet or Yukon gold) 18 oz
Butter 1 1/2 oz
Hot milk
Grated Parmesan
Fine salt, kosher salt, nutmeg
The recipe for mashed potatoes and our suggestions
With the quantities suggested in the tutorial above you can prepare enough mashed potatoes to serve as a side dish for about 6 people.
Wash the potatoes and boil them starting from cold water, for about 40 minutes after the water stars boiling. They’re cooked when, after inserting a knife, you can extract it easily. Peel them while hot and mash them immediately. Put them in a pot, add the hot milk, the butter, a pinch of salt, nutmeg to taste and a little grated Parmesan. To vary the consistency of the mashed potatoes increase or decrease the amount of milk. If you like it rich use fresh cream to replace some if the milk. Stir over the heat until it’s a soft and coarse-grained cream that’s not sticky.
Tools
There are two types of potato mashers, an “L” type and a more practical and faster one with a lever and a perforated disc. Don’t use a vegetable mill because the potatoes will cool and the mashed potatoes will get sticky. Using a whisk is important to make the mashed potatoes soft by incorporating air.
How to boil the potatoes
According to the classic method the potatoes are boiled in water for about 40 minutes. Put them in a pot with cold water and boil them with their skin to prevent them from absorbing too much water; no need to salt the water because, with the peel, they would not absorb it. They can also be steamed; since they are not immersed in water, it is advisable to peel them and cut them into regular pieces for a faster and more uniform cooking (about 20 minutes). In a pressure cooker: peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces; put them in the pot with an inch of water without salt and cook them for 12 minutes after the cooker starts whistling. And finally you can use the microwave oven, using the appropriate container.
Storing and re-using mashed potatoes
You can keep the leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge for up to three days. Re-use the mashed potatoes by transforming them into something even better: by adding egg yolks and grated Parmesan you can make croquettes to fry; by adding them to ground beef you can make softer burgers and meatballs (4 oz of mashed potatoes for 11 oz of meat); by adding ham and cheese, they become an excellent filling for ravioli and cannelloni; by baking them in a mold with eggs, ham and cheese they become a pie to be served whole or cut into small squares as an hors d’oeuvre.