Julia Child used to say “If you’re afraid of cream, use butter.”
Well, this mashed potato recipe, a version of a Tyler Florence recipe – I adjusted the seasonings a bit) – calls for both!
As a matter of fact, the potatoes are actually cooked in cream, and then that starchy potato infused cooking liquid is then used to mash the potatoes. Some folx, commenting on his original recipe, were afraid of the cream, so they used half and half.
I’ve tried them both ways, and both are delicious, but for this batch, I had some heavy cream to use up, so here we are.
INGREDIENTS
•16 oz bag small potatoes
•2 tbsp butter
•2 tbsp olive oil
•1 tsp steak seasoning
•1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
•1/2 tsp garlic powder
•1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper
•1/2 tsp dried sage
•1/2 tsp dried rosemary
•1/2 tsp dried thyme
•Heavy cream to cover the potatoes
Note: for this batch, I used small golden potatoes, but the small red potatoes work a treat, too.
Add the potatoes to a Dutch oven with the seasonings, butter, and olive oil.
Add heavy cream (or half and half or even milk) to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Strain the potatoes (save the cooking liquid), then return the potatoes to the pan.
Mash or whip the potatoes, adding as much cooking liquid and/or additional butter until the potatoes are the consistency you like.
Serve immediately.