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Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Here's a "perfect" comfort recipe from Martha Stewart's "Favorite Comfort Food" cookbook (Clarkson Potter, 1999, $22) offered with a heaping helping of advice from Martha.



List of Ingredients





"Match mashed potatoes to your meal - or your mood: Make them lumpy or creamy; with extra butter, a drizzle of olive oil, or a head of roasted garlic. Make them ivory white or flecked with black pepper; saffron-gold, herb-green or carrot-orange. Steaming and soft, they're comforting in every color."

Perfect Mashed Potatoes
2 pounds russet, Yukon gold or long white potatoes
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
1 cup milk or whipping cream
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg



Recipe



Peel and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place in medium saucepan. Cover with cold water and add salt; bring to simmer. (If using potato ricer, fill another saucepan or bottom of double boiler with water, and place over low heat.) Simmer potatoes until knife easily slips in and out of them, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain potatoes in colander.

Place milk in small saucepan set over medium-high heat.

If using electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, transfer hot, drained potatoes to bowl of electric mixer and on medium-low speed, mix until most lumps have disappeared, about 1 minute. Add butter; mix until blended. On low speed, add hot milk in slow stream, then add pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste. Mix to combine.

(If using potato ricer, place heat-proof bowl or top of double boiler over pan of simmering water. Press hot, drained potatoes through ricer into bowl. Stir potatoes with wooden spoon until smooth, about 1 minute. Using whisk, incorporate butter. Drizzle in hot milk, whisking continuously. Add pepper, nutmeg and salt to taste; whisk to combine.)

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Variations:

For garlic mashed potatoes, add 3 smashed garlic cloves to milk. Cover and simmer until garlic is mild and soft, about 20 minutes. Add milk and garlic directly to potatoes, and mash.

For roasted-garlic mashed potatoes, wrap a small head of garlic in aluminum foil, then place in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel roasted garlic and add to potatoes, to taste, while mashing.

For herbed mashed potatoes, add fresh chopped herbs such as parsley, dill, chives or basil to mashed potatoes. Or, to make bright-green potatoes, substitute any herb-infused olive oil for the butter. To make it, puree herbs and olive oil in bowl of food processor or until herbs are finely minced and olive oil is bright green.

For mashed potatoes and root vegetables, substitute 5 ounces cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, celery root or turnips for 6 ounces potatoes.