Mashed potatoes are a side dish that I do not know of any person who hates it. It’s a universal favorite way of cooking potatoes because it’s so easy to eat! I think that our love for mashed potatoes takes us back to our baby years of eating nice pureed food. Those were the pleasant years.

Mashed potatoes aren’t only easy to eat but you can do so much with them. This side dish isn’t meant to overpower the main dishes that it is served with but you can dress it up to taste extra delicious and to complement the main.

Here’s an interesting and exciting way of making mashed potatoes.

Table of Contents

How many potatoes should you make per person for mashed potatoes?

There are many kinds of potatoes available worldwide but not every kind of potato is best for mashing. The most loved kind of potatoes for mashing are Russet and Yukon potatoes. These kinds of potatoes usually come big. Technically, it’s not very easy to spot a potato and say that this is good enough for a certain number of people.

Technically again, each person at a dinner table should be able to have 200 grams of mashed potatoes and that means that for every two people at a dinner table, you need 1 pound of potatoes. If you have a part of 4, use 2 pounds of potatoes. If you have a party of 6, use 3 pounds of potatoes.

If you’re very good at spotting the weight of potatos with your eyes, then you, my friend, are gifted.

What can I add to mashed potatoes?

Potatoes are kind of the default choice for a starchy side dish and it’s normal. Since this default taste is pretty bland, you can add so much to it.

A class mashed potatoes dish would have cream or milk in it, butter, salt and pepper. You want your mashed potatoes nice and creamy when you’re eating with a delicious piece of steak.

If you’re feeling more daring, you may add roasted garlic, roasted peppers, cheese, herbs, etc.

Any nice and subtle flavor can easily go with mashed potatoes. You just need to be a little bit creative.

How to fix undercooked mashed potatoes

Sometimes making mashed potatoes can get tasking. If you screw things up, you feel like you’ve pretty much screwed up and there’s nothing else you can do about it. However, we have some hacks we can work with.

Mashed potatoes can take a long time to cook. First of all, do not put the chopped-up potatoes in boiling water. The boiling water will cook the exterior quicker than the middle part, causing the mashed potatoes to unevenly cook. This could lead to undercooked mashed potatoes. To prevent this, start with cold water then the water and potatoes will boil all together.

If you’ve already thrown your boiling water and your potatoes are still undercooked, steam the potatoes for a couple of minutes to soften what else isn’t cooked.

If everything is a mess, turn the mashed potatoes into a casserole. It’s still good!

How to mash potatoes without a masher

A hand masher is one of the handiest kitchen tools you never knew you needed until it was time to make mashed potatoes. There are plenty of hacks to mashed potatoes if you don’t have a masher but not all work well.

A lot of people would suggest using a food processor or stand-up mixer. The thing about these electric alternatives is that they often over-mix the potatoes. It’s hard to catch it at the right time. You will most likely end up with gluey mashed potatoes.

Another simple alternative is mashing with a fork. It will take long time but it will do the work just like a hand masher.

The best option for mashing potatoes is using a food mill. A food mill is the best for mashing because the results of the mashed potatoes are silky and smooth. If you happen to have one, stick to that instead!

Ingredients

Yukon or Russet Potatoes. Yukon and Russet potatoes are the best option for making mashed potatoes. They deliver the best results. However, if you can’t find any of these, try using your local potatoes available. You can adjust the texture with butter and milk.
Lemon. Make sure to use nice lemon because we’ll need the rind for this recipe.
Garlic. You don’t need a lot of garlic. We don’t want the mashed potatoes to be too overpowering. But we do need good fresh garlic.
Butter. Butter is used to make the mashed potato creamy, usually with milk. It adds richness and flavor to accompany the silky texture of the mashed potatoes
Fresh Milk. Fresh Milk is the liquid that helps change and smoothen the consistency and texture of the mashed potatoes. Not only does it smoothen but it gives a great creamy flavor.

How to cook garlic and lemon mashed potatoes

Place the potatoes in a pot of salted water and boil for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Make sure that you start with cold water. You don’t want to unevenly cook the potatoes.

In a medium, medium depth saucepan, sauté the garlic in some of the butter until tender in low heat. Do not brown the garlic so much. You don’t want that flavor for the mashed potatoes. Add the milk, rest of the butter and lemon zest in the saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Remember to keep the mixture warm if you’re waiting for the potatoes to cook.

Using a food mill or hand masher, mash the potatoes and then add to the milk mixture. Make sure to thoroughly mix the mashed potatoes with the milk mixture to achieve a nice and creamy texture.