Author Notes: I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy, to the point that it worries my wife a little. These are a perfect accompaniment to beef of any ilk, in particular a perfectly grilled 2″ thick prime ribeye. – La452 —La452
Food52 Review: Thanks to La452, we were reminded that the old-school russet makes an excellent mashed potato — it’s fluffy, soft and just loves to soak up butter. La452 adds sour cream and buttermilk, which give the potatoes a stroke of tanginess. And he boils the potatoes with peppercorns and garlic and leaves them in, so the mash is dotted with the soft black orbs. They’re like little firebombs so if you don’t like bursts of heat, crush them as you mash the potatoes. – A & M —The Editors
Serves: 4
Ingredients
-
3
large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
-
1/2
stick unsalted butter
-
1/3
cup sour cream
-
1/4
cup buttermilk
-
1
teaspoon salt (to taste)
-
1/2
tablespoon whole black peppercorns
-
2
large rosemary sprigs
-
3 to 5
cloves garlic (depending how big they are)
Directions
- Put all the dairy in a dish and allow it to come to room temperature
- Fill a large pot 2/3 full of salted water. Add the peppercorns, garlic and rosemary. Bring to a rolling boil and remove the rosemary, then add the potatoes.
- Boil until the potatoes are very soft, then drain them and put them back in the pot – garlic and peppercorns and all. Let them sit and steam for about 5 minutes.
- Add the dairy and mash until creamy. I use a hand masher but you could use a hand mixer as well. Serve with a steak and a big glass of good red wine!
1 of 16
Photo by James Ransom
2 of 16
3 of 16
Photo by James Ransom
4 of 16
5 of 16
6 of 16
7 of 16
Photo by Food52
You start by adding rosemary, peppercorns and peeled garlic cloves to salted water.
8 of 16
Photo by Food52
Bring it to a boil. (What's wrong with Amanda's pot? Don't put All Clad LTD in the dishwasher, that's what!)
9 of 16
Photo by Food52
Cutting the taters into chunks. Mr. L leaves the size up to you so we went with 1-inch cubes.
10 of 16
Photo by Food52
Butter, buttermilk and sour cream making their way to the starting gates.
11 of 16
Photo by Food52
The potatoes are dropped into the boiling water, which is a little unconventional. Usually potatoes start in cold water and are brought to a boil. Didn't seem to make a difference. Use some…
12 of 16
Photo by Food52
In goes the butter-buttermilk-sour-cream triumvirate.
13 of 16
Photo by Food52
Merrill holds onto the pot handle so it doesn't slip from the incredible force of Amanda's mashing…
14 of 16
Photo by Food52
Merrill gives it one last mashing. By the way, you can squash the peppercorns with the masher or leave them whole.
15 of 16
Photo by Food52
Pillow cloud of mashed potato.
16 of 16
Photo by Food52