The Northern Express Herald
Creamy mashed potatoes
Tamara West
There are two secrets to achieving a perfectly smooth, creamy potato mash. The first thing is to have the potatoes as dry as possible before mashing them, secondly it’s the addition of a boiling hot mix of either milk or cream, depending on how rich you like your mash — and, of course, some butter. To ensure there are no lumps and to achieve a lovely creamy texture. I like to put my potatoes through a fine sieve instead of using a potato masher.
Ingredients
| 600 g | Potatoes, peeled, I use agria (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Salt |
| 100 ml | Milk, or cream |
| 50 g | Butter |
Directions
- Cut the potatoes evenly into halves or quarters depending on their size. This will help them to cook all at the same time.
- Cover them with cold water, add salt and bringto the boil. Simmer gently for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Drain well and carefully tip potatoes back into the pot and return to a very low heat to "steam off" to dry them out. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the milk and butter until boiling. Press the potatoes through a fine sieve to ensure there are no lumps. Place the potatoes into a clean saucepan and warm on a low heat.
- Slowly add in the boiling hot liquid, stirring well to create a soft, smooth, creamy texture. Season with salt if needed.
Make a change
You can add any extra seasonings to this base mash recipe. Some of my favourites are freshly ground pepper, a little freshly grated nutmeg, sliced fresh chives or parsley, crumbled feta or blue cheese.