By ShowMeStepByStepPublished
Based on a video by Bon Appétit.
Most mashed potatoes are fine. The difference between fine and the kind people go quiet over comes down to three choices: which potato, what you mash it with, and whether you bother warming the dairy first.
Andy Baraghani makes these at Bon Appetit with Yukon golds boiled whole in their skins, pushed through a ricer, and folded with milk and cream that have been steeped with garlic and rosemary. No peeling, no masher, no lumps.
Yukons here. They are lower in starch than russets and the flavor is better - buttery on their own before you add anything.
Russets work and give you a fluffier result. They also drink more dairy, so expect to add a little extra. What you should not use is a waxy red or new potato, because those turn gluey the moment you work them.
This is the one tool worth owning for this dish. A ricer presses the potato through small holes in a single pass, so the starch cells stay intact and you get a smooth, light texture.
A masher takes several passes and leaves lumps. A food processor or blender is worse - the blades rupture the starch and you end up with something closer to wallpaper paste.
The other trick: because the potatoes went in whole with their skins on, the ricer holds the skin back while the flesh goes through. You never have to peel a hot potato.
Dropping potatoes into already-boiling water cooks the outside long before the middle catches up, and you get a mash that is part puree and part chunks.
Cold water that comes up to temperature with the potatoes in it cooks them evenly the whole way through. Salt the water heavily while you are at it. It should taste like the sea, because this is the only chance the potato itself gets to be seasoned from the inside.
Cold milk hitting hot potatoes drops the temperature and tightens the starch. Warm dairy folds in smoothly and keeps everything hot enough to serve.
While it warms, drop in a halved head of garlic and a few sprigs of rosemary and bring it just to a simmer, not a boil. Five minutes is enough to pull the flavor out. Strain it before it goes anywhere near the potatoes, which also catches any skin that formed on the surface.
Sage, thyme or a bay leaf all work in place of rosemary.
After draining, tip the potatoes back into the hot empty pot for a moment. The residual heat drives off surface water.
Wet potatoes make watery mash, and no amount of butter fixes it afterwards.
These hold well in a low oven or a slow cooker on warm. Hold back a little of the milk mixture and fold it through just before serving to loosen them back up.
Leave a well in the top for gravy. That is what it is there for.
These are the landing pad for the gravy. The rest of the plate:
8 steps · about 4 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Four pounds of Yukon gold potatoes go into a large pot whole, with the skins still on. No peeling and no chopping.
Whole potatoes take on less water than cut ones, and the skins come off by themselves later when the ricer holds them back.
Tip
Russets work too and give a fluffier mash, though they soak up more dairy. Avoid waxy red potatoes, which turn gluey.
Cover the potatoes with cold water and add a generous amount of salt. The water should taste like the ocean.
Bring it up to a boil from cold rather than dropping the potatoes into water that is already boiling. Starting cold means the outside and the middle finish at the same time instead of the edges going to mush while the centre is still firm.
Tip
This is the only opportunity to season the potato itself rather than the butter around it, so do not go light on the salt.
While the potatoes cook, slice a head of garlic in half crosswise to expose the cloves. Put it in a saucepan with one and a half cups of whole milk, half a cup of heavy cream, two sticks of unsalted butter and three sprigs of rosemary.
Bring it to a bare simmer over medium heat, around five minutes. You want bubbles at the edge, not a rolling boil, which would scorch the dairy and blow out the flavor you are trying to draw in.
Tip
Any hardy herb works here - sage, thyme or a bay leaf instead of the rosemary.
When a knife slides into the centre of a potato with no resistance, they are done. Drain them and rinse briefly under running water to wash off the excess starch on the outside.
Then tip them straight back into the hot empty pot for a moment. The residual heat dries the surface, and dry potatoes are the difference between creamy mash and watery mash.
Tip
Test the biggest potato in the pot. If that one gives no resistance, the rest are ready.
Strain the warm milk mixture to remove the garlic, rosemary and any skin that formed on top, then set it aside.
Working in batches, press the hot potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl. The flesh goes through the holes and the skins stay behind in the basket, so you never have to peel anything.
One pass through a ricer keeps the starch cells intact, which is what gives you a smooth, light texture rather than a gluey one.
Tip
No ricer? A food mill is the next best thing. Do not use a food processor or a blender - the blades rupture the starch and the result turns to paste.
Add the room temperature butter to the riced potatoes and fold it through with a spatula.
Room temperature matters. Cold butter takes longer to melt and you end up over-working the potatoes trying to get it distributed, which is exactly what makes mash turn heavy.
Pour in the strained milk and cream a little at a time, folding between each addition rather than tipping it all in at once.
Adding it gradually lets you stop at the texture you want. Different potatoes absorb different amounts, so the recipe is a guide and your eyes are the judge.
Tip
Hold back a few tablespoons. If you are making these ahead, that is what you fold through at the end to loosen them again.
Keep folding gently until the mash is even and glossy. Stop as soon as it comes together - the more you work it, the more starch you release and the heavier it gets.
Season with salt, around four teaspoons for four pounds of potatoes, and taste as you go. Serve them warm with a well pressed into the top for gravy.
Tip
Fold, do not beat. Overworked potatoes go from creamy to sticky quickly and there is no way back.
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