Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Do you have a favorite side dish? I guess it would come as no surprise that a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes reign in our house. Fluffy, creamy, and lots of butter is how we like them. Ideally beside a warming stew on a cold day. But really, I’m not judgy, serve these with basically ANY main meal. Or if you really want to go there, just in a bowl topped with homemade peppercorn sauce.
What you need to get started
- Potatoes. Good mashing potatoes. In Australia, the best mashing potatoes are King Edward or Dutch creams, although they can be a little hard to find as they are not usually in supermarkets. You most commonly find in the supermarkets, Sebago (the dirt-covered ones), Desiree (the pink skin ones), or Colibans potatoes. All of these are good all rounder potatoes and mash well.
- Full cream milk. While you can substitute lite or skim milk, I’m a full-cream kinda girl.
- Thickened Cream – A pot of thickened cream can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Sometimes a little richness is called for and that’s where thickened cream comes in.
- Butter – Unsalted is what I always have on hand, however it really doesn’t matter a great deal with this recipe. Just be sure to check before seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Salt & pepper to season.
The nitty gritty
- Peel the potatoes and pop them into a large saucepan. Cover with water. – To ensure even cooking, cut them roughly into the same size. I generally cut my potatoes in half only and this works well for me as they don’t absorb as much water as potatoes that are cut into smaller chunks.
- Bring to the boil and cook for 25 minutes (or until cooked through).
- Drain the potatoes of their water. In the saucepan, pop the potatoes and butter (with the lid on) and leave for 5 minutes to steam. This just eliminates any excess moisture from the potatoes.
- Mash, mash, mash! Give the potatoes a good mash.
- Add cream & milk. Mash it in. I like to turn the heat on low while I do this step (completely optional), Hot potatoes soak up the liquid far better than cold potatoes!
- With your masher or a spatula whip the potatoes a little (like you are using a whisk) to make them light and fluffy.
- Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.
Equipment needed
A generous stockpot or saucepan. A 24cm stainless steel stockpot is my go-to potato pot. It easily can fit 1-2kg of potatoes without overfilling. You also need a masher. Do yourself a favor and check out this masher. It’s seriously genius. Not a sponsor or anything just a whole lotta masher love! After mashing, be sure to use the masher to kind of “whip it” for a few seconds like you are using a whisk. It will totally give you that light and fluffy mash you’ve always searched for!
What we are serving with these creamy mashed potatoes
A good roast chook! Like my Herbs de Provence roast chicken. Add a quick salad, some homemade gravy, and roast night is a go!
All the slow-cooked stews – Irish stew, beef ragu, beef cheeks in red wine… A perfect dinner on a cool day. Check out this post full of ideas for recipes that go with mashed potatoes.
Like, anything and everything. A homemade schnitty. Corned beef and white sauce. The possibilities are endless!
Love slow cooking? Here are a few recipes you might like…
- Persian lentil sweet potato soup
- An Irishman’s wife’s irish stew
- Beef & red wine ragu
- Slow-cooked beef stroganoff
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
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Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 people 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
Description
Creamy mashed potatoes are the BEST side for a good roast or slow-cooked stew. Any leftovers can easily be fried up the next morning for an easy breakfast treat!
Ingredients
- 1kg Potatoes
- water
- 125g unsalted butter
- 1/4c cream
- 1/3c full cream milk
- seas salt flakes & freshly cracked pepper to season
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and pop them into a large saucepan. Cover with water. – To ensure even cooking, cut them roughly into the same size. I generally cut my potatoes in half only and this works well for me as they don’t absorb as much water as potatoes that are cut into smaller chunks.
- Bring to the boil and cook for 25 minutes (or until cooked through).
- Drain the potatoes of their water. In the saucepan, pop the potatoes and butter (with the lid on) and leave for 5 minutes to steam. This just eliminates any excess moisture from the potatoes.
- Mash, mash, mash! Give the potatoes a good mash.
- Add cream & milk. Mash it in. I like to turn the heat on low while I do this step (completely optional), Hot potatoes soak up the liquid far better than cold potatoes!
- With your masher or a spatula whip the potatoes a little (like you are using a whisk) to make them light and fluffy.
- Season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper.
