{"id":282,"date":"2008-12-15T13:32:53","date_gmt":"2008-12-15T13:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/?p=282"},"modified":"2017-11-08T16:07:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T16:07:25","slug":"how-to-make-great-mashed-potatoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/how-to-make-great-mashed-potatoes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Great Mashed Potatoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In years past, I never gave potato mashing the attention it deserved. <\/span>I just threw in a little butter and milk, mashed roughly with a hand masher and took them to the table. <\/span>This year, I put a little time into experimenting and investigating and found some tricks that easily elevated the mashed potato into a something quite special.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cooking technique was probably the most important discovery. <\/span>Typically, potatoes are boiled in salted water for mashed potatoes, which is fine if you don\u2019t use too much water, which tends to \u201cleach out\u201d the flavor. <\/span>Being moderate with the water, however, makes it easy to burn the potatoes because the water quickly evaporates or gets soaked up by the potatoes–and there is no worse smell, taste or mess than burned potatoes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Steaming retains the flavor, but it\u2019s also difficult to get the potatoes uniformly soft, especially without scorching the pot.<\/span><\/p>\n

This recipe uses a slow cooker to avoid these difficulties. <\/span>The potatoes get soft enough and stay moist enough to make great mashed potatoes, without losing any flavor or running the risk of burning. <\/span>Plus, you can keep them perfectly warm until just when you\u2019re ready to mash. <\/span><\/p>\n

The technique is simple: <\/span>Scrub potatoes and either dry with a clean dish towel or allow to air dry. <\/span>Place in a 3.5 or 4 qt. oval slow cooker. Cover cooker and cook on high heat, 5-7 hours, until potatoes are very tender (clear to the middle) when stuck with a fork. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When potatoes are done, remove from slow cooker using a large turning fork. <\/span>Wipe inside of slow cooker with a clean, damp rag, then butter liner. <\/span>Use a paring knife to cut potatoes into 1-2\u201d cubes and return to slow cooker, then mash as directed in recipe. <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What if you forget to put the potatoes on in the morning? <\/span>The following recipe shares a microwave alternative that is just as good, but a little more time consuming.<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S. Also note that there’s nothing unhealthy about these mashed potatoes.\u00a0 The humble potato often gets a bad rap, but that’s usually because it’s combined with silly amounts of butter and cream.\u00a0 Here, we’re using olive oil in a moderate amount (some is used just for roasting the garlic), we using milk instead of cream and we’re leaving the skins on, where a good portion of the vitamins and minerals reside.\u00a0 Just don’t eat the whole batch yourself!
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Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n