Introduction to Mashed Potatoes

mashed potatoes were a very common side dish in my childhood home. My mom loved making them and she was very good at it. They were always creamy, smooth, and well-seasoned.

It was Joel Robuchon that opened my eyes to what mashed potatoes could be or should I say Puree de Pommes could be. It was during my first few months at California Culinary Academy that I learned about this iconic chef. The level of detail that goes into this puree is off the charts. The potatoes are treated with great care from the very first step, such as cooking the potatoes with their skin to ensure that the potatoes do not become waterlogged, to the last step of making sure the butter is perfectly emulsified. It IS a work of art.

The other chef who changed my view of mashed potatoes was Joyce Goldstein, I had the opportunity to spend a few nights working in her kitchen, Square One, while I was attending the California Culinary Academy. One of the jobs I had was helping one of the PM line cooks make mashed potatoes, that night forever changed my view on potatoes and what you can do with them. That night we boiled whole baby red potatoes with the skin on, drained the potatoes put them in a huge stand-up mixer with a whip, added milk, and roasted garlic puree, and this is part that made me stop and rethink everything. We started adding extra virgin olive oil. What, who puts olive oil in mashed potatoes? That’s just crazy. However, those potatoes were fantastic, the roasted garlic with the creamy potatoes and the bright, peppery, nutty flavor of the olive oil. It expanded my horizon on what potatoes can be.

Mashed Potatoes are the perfect side dish to so many meals including Beet Bourguignon and Vegan Salisbury Steak.

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WHAT YOU NEED…

Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the preferred variety for mashed potatoes.
Vegan Butter: there are so many types of vegan butter on the market today that we just can’t choose a favorite. We do recommend using sticks rather than whipped for cooking.
Plant milk warmed is used for best results. We use oat milk but any will work.

How To Make Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes ingredients — Ingredients for perfect mashed potatoes.

COOKING YUKON POTATOES FOR GARLIC CONFIT MASHED POTATOES — Cooking potatoes.

RICED YUKON POTATOES — Ricing the potatoes.

RICING YUKON POTATOES — Ricing the potatoes while hot.

Chefs Tips

Cut the peeled potatoes into equal sizes. Maintaining consistency in the potato sizes is key here. If you have different sizes of potatoes you will end up with overcooked and undercooked pieces of potato—this will be a problem later in the recipe.
Always start your potatoes in cold water. The cold water allows the potatoes to cook evenly, if you start with boiling water the potatoes will cook on the outside faster than the inside leaving you overcooked on the outside and undercooked on the inside.
Using hot milk and butter will help the liquid absorb quicker into the potato helping to limit the starches being released into the puree, the more you mash or whip the more starch is released and the mashed potatoes can become gummy.
Ricing the potatoes is the secret to perfect mashed potatoes. Ricing the potatoes is a fast way to create a smooth, creamy, and airy potato puree.
Now sit back with a smile on your face knowing everyone is freaking out about the smooth, creamy, and airy mashed potatoes and it’s because you nailed a few simple steps

Mashed Potatoes

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 50

Servings: as a side

Calories: 247kcal

Author: Those Vegan Chefs

Creamy smooth Mashed Potatoes are the perfect side dish for a plethora of meals.

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Ingredients

4 lbs Yellow Potatoes peeled
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Yellow Miso Paste

1 Cup Plant Milk
2 Tbsp Vegan Butter
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil

1 Tbsp Kosher Salt plus some to season the potato water

Instructions

Cut the potatoes into 6th’s or 4th’s depending on the size.
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.
Add the kosher salt, miso paste and the cloves of garlic to the potatoes.
On high heat, bring the potatoes to a boil then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook the potatoes until tender.
Heat a small pan over low heat to melt the vegan butter and the plant milk.
Drain the potatoes. While still hot, pass all of the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl.
Add about half of the warm milk and butter liquid to the potatoes, stir to combine. Continue to add the milk until creamy and smooth. Add salt to taste.
Serve or place back in the pot, cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

Notes

Nutritional values are an estimate.

Nutrition

Mashed Potatoes