A recipe for incredible mashed potatoes, courtesy largely of Francesco Mazzei, my former head head chef and by some distance the man on whom I have had the largest crush (to date).
250 mls full fat milk
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthways
2 bay leaves
pinch ground nutmeg, preferably fresh
6 largish floury potatoes, of similar sizes, scrubbed but with their skins on
Splash of double cream (optional)
50-100g cold butter, in small cubes, to taste
First infuse the milk: put it and the garlic, bay and nutmeg in a heavy bottomed pan and bring to a gentle bubble over a lowish heat. Without wishing to get too technical, you want to heat it to 68 degrees; any hotter and the sugars will start to become denatured. Remove from the heat and set aside; the longer this sits the more the flavours will pass into the milk.
In the meantime, put the potatoes in a large pan with enough cold water to cover, but not more, put a lid on the pot and bring to a simmer. A rolling boil will cook the outsides of the potatoes too fast and the skins will split, allowing water into the potatoes. This is emphatically not what you want.
Once the potatoes are cooked, pull them out of the water and leave to steam dry and cool slightly for 2 or 3 minutes. If they get too cold though, the gluten will begin to bind and you will produce an unpalatable grey mash with a consistency like wallpaper paste.
Set your pain threshold to high, and peel the skins off the potatoes, using your hands or a turning knife. Put into a sieve, mouli or potato ricer and pass quickly - again, do not let the potatoes get cold. Once all the potatoes are pureed, you can add the milk, strained off from the bay and garlic, cream and then the butter, beating them in with a spatula or wooden spoon. The result should be light but not stiff and have a little lustre from the butter, if not you may need to add a little more milk. Taste for salt, and serve.
If the mash has cooled, you can reheat over a gentle flame but you should make sure the mash to begin to stick to the pan.
You might also consider adding a few herbs; chives, basil or parsley; also depending on the accompaniment you might wish to add other aromatics into the milk at the start of the process, depending on what you want to serve the mash with; thyme will accentuate sweetness; saffron will give a lovely yellow colour, as will mustard. If you are adding soft herbs, you should also add the stalks to the milk at the start of the process to add depth of flavour. And of course, roast garlic goes with pretty much everything.
You might also replace the dairy with a good lot of olive oil to provide a more vegan friendly, summery mash.
250 mls full fat milk
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved lengthways
2 bay leaves
pinch ground nutmeg, preferably fresh
6 largish floury potatoes, of similar sizes, scrubbed but with their skins on
Splash of double cream (optional)
50-100g cold butter, in small cubes, to taste
First infuse the milk: put it and the garlic, bay and nutmeg in a heavy bottomed pan and bring to a gentle bubble over a lowish heat. Without wishing to get too technical, you want to heat it to 68 degrees; any hotter and the sugars will start to become denatured. Remove from the heat and set aside; the longer this sits the more the flavours will pass into the milk.
In the meantime, put the potatoes in a large pan with enough cold water to cover, but not more, put a lid on the pot and bring to a simmer. A rolling boil will cook the outsides of the potatoes too fast and the skins will split, allowing water into the potatoes. This is emphatically not what you want.
Once the potatoes are cooked, pull them out of the water and leave to steam dry and cool slightly for 2 or 3 minutes. If they get too cold though, the gluten will begin to bind and you will produce an unpalatable grey mash with a consistency like wallpaper paste.
Set your pain threshold to high, and peel the skins off the potatoes, using your hands or a turning knife. Put into a sieve, mouli or potato ricer and pass quickly - again, do not let the potatoes get cold. Once all the potatoes are pureed, you can add the milk, strained off from the bay and garlic, cream and then the butter, beating them in with a spatula or wooden spoon. The result should be light but not stiff and have a little lustre from the butter, if not you may need to add a little more milk. Taste for salt, and serve.
If the mash has cooled, you can reheat over a gentle flame but you should make sure the mash to begin to stick to the pan.
You might also consider adding a few herbs; chives, basil or parsley; also depending on the accompaniment you might wish to add other aromatics into the milk at the start of the process, depending on what you want to serve the mash with; thyme will accentuate sweetness; saffron will give a lovely yellow colour, as will mustard. If you are adding soft herbs, you should also add the stalks to the milk at the start of the process to add depth of flavour. And of course, roast garlic goes with pretty much everything.
You might also replace the dairy with a good lot of olive oil to provide a more vegan friendly, summery mash.
