Mashed potatoes are one of those dishes that seem to be intimidating for a lot of people. But really, they’re very simple. So simple in fact that we make them year round at my house. Once you have the basic steps down you’ll me making making mashed potatoes from scratch by memory. Here’s what you’ll need…
Ingredients
- 5lbs of russet potatoes (you could also use red potatoes if you prefer)
- 16 oz sour cream
- 8 oz of butter
- Salt and pepper
- 1 Bunch of green onions
Kitchen Essentials
Directions
- Rinse and quarter potatoes placing them in a pot with just enough water to cover by a few inches (remember to leave enough room for the water to boil).
- Sprinkle some salt into the pot, place a the lid on the pot and bring to a boil over high heat (once boiling remove lid).
- Cook on high until the potatoes fall apart when you stick them with a fork… literally, you should be able to put a fork down the middle of a potato and it crumples to pieces. You want them soft enough so that you can mash them very easily. This usually takes 30 minutes or more.
- While your potatoes are cooking, chop up your green onions using either your kitchen scissors a knife.
- When potatoes are ready, strain the water out of the potatoes and put the potatoes back into the pot.
- Put the stick of butter in the pot and let it melt for a bit (I like to bury mine in potatoes to make it melt faster).
- Once the stick of butter is soft, add the sour cream and green onions (however many you like).
- Use your potato masher to mash your potatoes in the pot.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Voila! Yummy mashed potatoes!
If you want creamy whipped mashed potatoes, you can use an immersion blender instead of a potato masher. Just make sure to add the green onions after you have blended your potatoes. This method will also require adding some milk to get that creamy consistency.
Mashed potatoes make a great base for all sorts of yummy ingredients, so experiment and find your favorite. Try adding any combination of the following that sounds good to you:
- Crumpled bacon
- Whole milk
- Buttermilk
- Greek yogurt
- Dill
- Roasted garlic
- Caramelized onions
- Cheese
- Parsley
- Chili powder
- Sage
- Diced corned beef
- Etc!
