Mashed Potatoes

The story …

Very few things are as comforting as a bowl of fluffy, smooth and buttery mashed potatoes. This has to be one of the simplest and most satisfying potato dishes to make, but also one of the easiest to get wrong.  You can easily land up with lumpy, or watery, or even tasteless mashed potatoes. I’d like to think that I’ve mastered and perfected the basic mashed potatoes over the years. To start off always make sure that you season your cooking liquid with enough salt. Trust me, no one will enjoy bland mashed potatoes. Once the potatoes are cooked and fluffy soft, drain them well. The more liquid you have the more watery your mashed potatoes will be. Also make sure that the potatoes are not undercooked.

If you don’t want lumpy or grainy mashed potatoes, make sure that you heat the butter and milk. Try not to use cold milk and butter. It makes a huge difference. On the subject of butter, add lashings of it before mashing the potatoes. We all know butter makes everything better!! Well, at least in mashed potato world! For a silky smooth texture, use a potato masher to mash the ingredients while still hot, and never over mash the potatoes. The quicker you mash, the fluffier the potatoes. You can add sour cream, buttermilk, crème fraîche, garlic powder, or herbs of your choice, for that added richness and flavour. Mashed potatoes always taste better when freshly made, so try and serve it immediately.

They’re perfect served on their own as a side dish. You can garnish it as I did, with a dusting of nutmeg. For a great comfort dish, simply cover them in delicious sausage and caramelised onions, or slather with a velvety brown gravy, and add your vegetables of choice. Read my post, “Sausage and caramelised onions”. An easy dish to pull off on a busy week night, wouldn’t you agree?

Come on … join me … and savour the satisfying taste of home-made comfort food.

The recipe …

Cooks: 45 minutes    Serves: 4      Level: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 medium potatoes, quartered
• 250ml (1 cup) full cream milk
• 50g butter
• 5ml (1 teaspoon) nutmeg
• Salt

Method

1. Place the potatoes in a pot with salted water, and cook over high heat.
2. Boil until the potatoes are soft and fluffy.
3. Drain the potatoes of any excess water, and return to the stove.
4. Add the milk and butter. Heat until the butter has melted and the milk starts to boil.
5. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher.
6. Add more milk if the potatoes are too dry.
7. Spoon into a serving dish and lightly dust with nutmeg.
8. Serve immediately.

Serve

• with sausage and caramelised onions and adorn with garden peas and tomato relish; or serve as a side with a variety of other dishes of choice

Saving

1. Use margarine instead of butter.
2. Leave out the nutmeg if not available.

Bon appétit!

Author: Mauricia Jordaan

Photographer: Mauricia Jordaan