Few ingredients are required to make mashed potatoes: potatoes, butter, milk and Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s a side that goes great with meat dishes, even elaborate ones, such as roast, stew and braised meat. But it can also accompany fish, such as steamed salmon or grilled sea bass. With a bit of imagination, we can invent even more delicious variations of mashed potatoes and offer it more than once a week without getting bored.
Mashed potatoes with sage and speck
Sage has a pungent aroma, which goes well with the simplicity of mashed potatoes. Brown the sage in butter, cut some speck into cubes and add them to the potatoes. Don’t skimp on the seasoning!
Mashed potatoes with olives and artichokes
Taggiasca olives give the potatoes a Mediterranean tang. You can cut them into small pieces and add them to the mashed potatoes, or just place them on the surface with artichokes.
Mashed potatoes with crispy onion
Cut a white onion into strips and fry it, then add it to the mashed potatoes. It will give a crispy touch to the side dish!
Mashed potatoes with vegetables
Cut mixed vegetables into cubes – carrots, zucchini, eggplant – and stew them all in a pan with extra-virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, place in a baking pan as a base and cover with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano and bake in the oven. The end result will resemble a meat pie in the Nordic style, but in a veggie version.
Mashed potatoes with basil
Cut strips of basil – use a ceramic knife so as not to blacken them – and an excellent extra-virgin olive oil to season the mashed potatoes. The scent will be irresistible!
Mashed potatoes with cheese and ham
Children will love the cubes of ham and stringy cheese, a simple single course with a winter flavor.
Mashed potatoes with garlic and paprika
Lovers of strong flavors will appreciate the addition of chopped garlic and a sprinkling of paprika to the mashed potatoes, which give them a lot of character.
Mashed potatoes with gorgonzola and walnuts
Gorgonzola, dissolved in a frying pan with a little milk, is delicious added to the mashed potatoes. Walnuts or hazelnuts, in grains or pieces, will give it that extra crunchiness.