Weeknight · All year
Mashed Potatoes
Russets, drained until the steam slows, then butter and warm milk. A masher, not a fast mixer.
40 minutes · Serves 6 · About 6 cups
“You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 tbsp fine salt, for the water, plus more for the potatoes
- 6 tbsp butter
- ¾ cup milk, warmed
Method
- 1
Cover the potatoes with cold water and the tablespoon of salt. Bring them to a simmer and cook until a knife meets no resistance, about 15 minutes. Do not let them fall apart into the water.
- 2
Drain them in a colander and let them steam 2 minutes. Wet potatoes make a gluey mash.
- 3
Return them to the pot. Add the butter. Mash until most of the lumps are gone and the butter is melted. Pour in the warm milk a little at a time and mash again. Stop while they still have a little texture.
- 4
Salt them until they taste like potatoes, not like plain starch. Keep them covered over the lowest heat, or in a 200°F oven, if supper is not ready.
From the kitchen
- A stand mixer on high turns mashed potatoes into paste. If you use a mixer, use the lowest speed and stop early.
- Cold milk cools the potatoes and makes them stiff. Warm it.
My note
Kept on this device, beside the recipe, for the next time you cook it.
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