I don’t need much of an excuse to whip up a side dish of buttery mashed potatoes. I love them and Marcus tears into them with both hands.
But every once in a while, especially as we get into the holidays, I want to dress them up a little. You wouldn’t think you can improve much on creamy buttery potatoes, but with a few tweaks, you can lift them up a notch.
Tweaks like deliciously smooth brown butter and a healthy helping of garlic.
There are over 200 varieties of potatoes sold in the US, so you definitely have your choice of potatoes. I like to use Yukon Golds for almost everything. They’re the ultimate all purpose potato, less starchy than your Russets and Idahos and while they hold their shape for gratins and potato salad, they’re also deliciously fluffy and absorb the heck out of that delicious brown butter you’re going to throw in them.
Give them a light scrub, peel them, chop them up, and let’s get ready to make some brown butter!
Garlic Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes
Makes 6-8 servings.
What You’ll Need:
- 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
- 6 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
- 1 tsp chopped fresh sage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 3/4 cup cream
How to Make Them:
1. Peel and dice the potatoes and place them in a large stock pot. Cover the potatoes with water and sprinkle in a pinch of salt.
2. Over high heat, cook the potatoes until they come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and set the pot aside.
3. In a small saute pan, heat the butter until melted. Continue cooking until it beings to foam slightly. Continue cooking for 1 minute, or until the butter smells almost like popcorn. It should be a rich brown. Remove it from the heat and add the chopped herbs and garlic. Return to low heat and saute for 1 minute.
4. Pour the melted butter with herbs and garlic over the potatoes in the pot, along with the salt, white pepper, and cream. With an electric mixer, beat the potatoes until they’re smooth and creamy.
5. Serve and enjoy!
