Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
3 pounds red or Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
4 cloves garlic, sliced (You’re aiming for pieces that are large enough not to escape your colander/sieve.)
Kosher salt
1 1⁄2 cups half and half
1 stick (1⁄2 cup) butter, chilled cut into 9 pats
Instructions
1. Place the potatoes and garlic in a large pot. Cover with 1 to 2 inches of cold water and season liberally with salt. (The water should taste like sea water – taste it to be sure. I used about 2 tablespoons of kosher salt.)
2. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes and garlic and return to pot. Mash to desired consistency.
3. Meanwhile, bring the half and half to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, remove from heat.
4. While the potatoes are still hot, add 1⁄3 of the half and half and butter and stir into the potatoes. Repeat this 2 more times until all of the half and half and butter have been incorporated. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if needed.
Comments
This was one of the first recipes I say Anne Burrell prepare and I thought it looked delicious. But then I sort of forgot about it until a friend suggested that I make garlic mashed potatoes for Game Day. I’m more likely to err on the side of under-salting things, but the salt is very important in this recipe. If you neglect to salt the water well, it will be very hard to add that flavor later.
And, wow, these are some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. The well-salted water made a significant difference to the end product! Everyone else was pleased with the potatoes as evidenced by the rapidity with which they were devoured. I was sad to have no leftovers, so I’ll definitely double this next time.
I did find the potatoes to be a bit wetter than I would want them to be, so I’ll reduce the half and half to 1 cup next time and see how that works.
Shown here with Eye Round Roast and Horseradish Cream Sauce.
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