Mashed potatoes or ‘mash’ was always a staple in our dinner rotations when we were kids. When my mum or aunts made it I always assumed it was one of those quick and easy little side dishes that you could just throw together in a pinch. It actually took me longer than I’d expected to put together the perfect recipe which turns out amazing every time. The perfect mashed potatoes (in my humble opinion) are a bit more than just some boiled potatoes mashed together and seasoned with salt and pepper. My recipe is always a crowd pleaser and I promise it is super simple to put together, even for a beginner cook.
Start with the best type of potatoes for mash. I love using Russet potatoes peeled and cut into equal sized chunks (so they all boil at a similar rate rather than mushy small chunks and hard larger chunks). Boil them in a medium sized pot with water a few inches above the potatoes, seasoned with salt. When fork tender, drain the water and return to low heat. Add a splash of milk or heavycream, butter, cheese of choice (like mozarella or cheddar), sour cream, more salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried oregano. Mash everything up using a masher. Take the pot off of the flame and finish of mashing it all together
Ingredients
- about 5/6 russet potatoes (or potatoes or choice, yukon gold or Idaho potatoes work too but russet are the starchiest and fluffiest), peeled and cubed into medium chunks
- Salt and water for cooking
- A splash of milk (I eyeball it but I’d say maybe 1.5 tbsp
- Similar amount of heavy cream (optional, I’ve made it with just milk too but heavy cream gives better texture and flavour)
- 1-2tbsp butter cubed so it melts faster
- Black pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
- Cheese of choice to taste
- Other optional additions- sour cream, cream cheese and chives to garnish
-Peel and cut potatoes into chunks,
-add them to a large pot and fill with water covering the potatoes fully
-add salt to taste
-boil on high until the potatoes are fork tender
-once soft (but not too soft that they’re turning to mush already) drain the water in a colander
-put potatoes back on the stove with the flame on med-low, make sure there’s no water left otherwise the texture isn’t nice, trust me this is a key step
-add a splash of milk, a splash of heavy cream, 1-2tbsp butter cubed, a bit of cheese, black pepper and garlic powder to taste. (Usually no need for salt bc the potatoes take that in while boiling in the salt water)
-mash it all up using a masher
-keep an eye on the flame, if it’s too high it’l burn the bottom layer of potatoes and if it’s too low the milk and heavy cream won’t reduce properly and itl be too watery
-as soon as the liquid seems to have reduced turn off flame and continue to mash potatoes till smooth (this happens really fast for me and if I leave it on the stove the mash can end up too hard)
-mix it up with a wooden spoon, taste it to see if it needs any more flavour and you’re done ✅