Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Make these creamy, garlic mashed potatoes and you’ll be the hero of your holiday gatherings. The goal here is to use the starch profile of two different potato varieties to produce rustic and chunky mashed spuds possessing contrasting and complementary textures. Keeping the potatoes in larger chunks ensures more even cooking and a better mash — extra-large potatoes can be cut into 2-inch pieces. If you’re trying to get ahead, you can put the potatoes in a pot of cold water and refrigerate them for up to 8 hours before cooking. This recipe first appeared in Season 1 of Good Eats.Photo by Lynne Calamia
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- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 1 cup heavy cream
Specialized Hardware
Potato masher
ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Procedure
- Place all spud hunks in a 4-quart saucepan and add just enough cold tap water to cover. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat, about 15 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the garlic and gently simmer until garlic is light gold and fragrant, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the buttermilk and cream in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a bare simmer over low heat, watching to make sure the mixture doesn’t boil over. Keep the mixture barely bubbling until the potatoes are done.
- When the spud water boils, uncover, drop the heat to a simmer, and cook until the spuds are easily crushed with tongs, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander or mesh strainer then return them to the pan and the heat. Toss and shake gently for one minute to cook off any excess surface moisture — the drier the spuds are the better.
- Move the pan to a trivet, hot pad, or towel on the countertop and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Pour all of the garlic butter followed by a quarter of the buttermilk mixture and start mashing. As the spuds break down, add more of the buttermilk mixture until you’re happy with the results. Remember, these are mashed potatoes, not whipped potatoes. If you over-mash in an attempt to smooth every piece, you will inevitably rupture starch granules, which can and most likely will result in gummy potatoes.
- Serve straight or garnish with parsley, chopped scallions, crumbled bacon, sun dried tomatoes, grated horseradish, horseradish sauce, pesto, more bacon, sauteed mushrooms...use your imagination.
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