Potato mashes with more
Mashed potatoes are a sublime comfort food and by combining them with other vegetables you can create exciting and unusual dishes.
Saffron
Mash
I love the flavour of saffron and am a sucker for any recipe
that includes those magical threads. Good saffron is expensive but a
little goes a long way and its colour and perfume instantly lift a dish
to treat status.
Cook and mash the potatoes in the usual way. In a small saucepan heat 1
tablespoon milk and 1 dessertspoon butter per person, when the butter
has melted put in a pinch of saffron threads per person and a little
salt and white pepper and leave to infuse on the side of the stove for 5
minutes. Heat to nearly boiling and gradually beat into the mashed
potato using a stout fork.
This is particularly good with fish and any dish including lots of
tomatoes.
Tattie and Neep
(Swede to non-Scots).
One of the simplest mashes. You will need roughly equal quantities of
raw potatoes and neep. Peel the neep and chop it into 2cm cubes
(approximately). Put these into a large pan of boiling, salted water and
return to the boil. Peel the tatties and chop into rather larger chunks;
add them to the boiling neep and continue to boil gently until both
vegetables are tender. Drain thoroughly and leave the pan, with the lid
off, at the side of the stove to get rid of the last of the cooking
water. Then mash. In a small frying pan or saucepan heat half a
tablespoon of olive oil per person. Finely chop fresh rosemary
(available all winter from the garden or balcony providing it is given a
little protection from cold winds) to give a teaspoon of rosemary per
tablespoon of oil. Add the chopped rosemary to the hot oil and fry
gently for a minute to infuse the oil with flavour. Pour over the mashed
tattie and neep mixture and beat well with a wooden spoon to
incorporate.
Mashed potato and Celeriac
Celeriac looses most of its flavour when boiled so cook it separately to
the potatoes. Again use roughly equal quantities of the two vegetables.
Peel and boil the potatoes, drain well and dry off at the edge of the
stove. This really does improve the flavour and texture of the mash.
Meanwhile heat a generous knob of butter in a heavy bottomed pan, add
salt and plenty of ground black pepper. Peel the celeriac and chop into
roughly 1cm cubes; put these straight into the melted butter and stir to
coat them. Celeriac discolours quickly. Cook gently until soft then add
the whole contents of the saucepan to the cooked potatoes, scraping out
the buttery juices. Mash together, adding a dash of whole milk or cream
for extra indulgence.
Himmel und Erde
This is a mixture of apple (grown in the heavens) and potato (grown in
the earth); they combine to make a luscious, slightly piquant mash. Make
plenty: everyone will want more. You will need twice the quantity of
potatoes as of apples. Use apples that go fluffy when cooked like
Bramley or Newton Wonder. Peel the potatoes and cut into similar sized
pieces so they all cook at the same time. Boil in a pan of lightly
salted water until almost ready, then pour off most of the water,
leaving a thin covering at the bottom of the pan. Add the peeled and
cored apples, cut into small pieces and cook gently until the apples
have nearly dissolved and the remaining water has gone. Mash together,
adding a good knob of butter, plenty of black pepper and a grating of
nutmeg. This is a moist and creamy mash.
Skordalia
A dish of garlicky mashed potatoes regularly eaten in Greece to
accompany fish or fried vegetables. The exact proportions vary from
household to household and are largely a matter of taste so adjust the
quantities to suit your preference. Peel and chop a kilo of mashing
potatoes and boil them in a pan of lightly salted water until tender.
Drain well and mash; crush 2 cloves of garlic, or more, and beat them
into the mashed potatoes. Add at least 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the
juice of 1 lemon and beat it again; taste and add more oil/lemon
juice/garlic/salt. The skordalia should be light and “stand up” on a
fork. Don’t be tempted to mash or beat potatoes in a food processor, it
reduces them to paste. Skordalia was traditionally made in a pestle and
mortar but a modern masher does fine.
Rumbledethumps
An old Scottish Borders’ dish of potatoes and cabbage. You will need
equal quantities of potatoes and cabbage. Peel, boil and mash the
potatoes. Finely shred the cabbage (use a January King or Spring Cabbage
type) and just blanch it in a little boiling salted water; drain very
well. Soften a medium onion in a little butter, don’t let it brown and
then add it and the cooked cabbage to the mashed potatoes, together with
extra butter and plenty of black pepper. Beat with a wooden spoon or
strong fork to mix well. This can be made with left-over mashed potato
and left-over cabbage, gently frying them together in a large pan with
plenty of butter. Keep turning the mixture so it doesn’t burn though a
few brown bits add zest. It can also be reheated in the oven; covered
with cheese and browned is even better.