Marvellous Mashed Potato - A Most Versatile Recipe

If you are looking for a mashed potato recipe then you have come to the right place! We look to bring you the very best mashed potato recipes along with lots of other ideas how you can use mashed potato, including uses for your left over mashed potato.

I'm not sure that I know of anything more comforting than a serving of hot buttery mashed potato, it is a perfect accompaniment to a roast dinner or pie, almost essential when making Shepherds Pie or Fish Pie and can even be turned into Fish Cakes or used as a filling for pies.

In short, mashed potato is so versatile that it should be a basic recipe that everyone needs to know.

Ingredients Needed To Make Fluffy Mashed Potato

• 1 kg potatoes cut into large, even, chunks
• 200ml milk
• 50-75g butter
• Salt to taste

How To Make The Fluffy Mashed Potato

Put the potatoes into a large pan with enough cold water to make sure that they are well covered and add a good pinch of salt. Cover the pan and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for around 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes using a colander then return them to the pan and mash well with a potato masher.

Put the milk and butter into a bowl and heat in the microwave until the butter dissolves (if you prefer you can also do this in a small pan on the stove top). Pour the milk and butter into the mash and beat well with a wooden spoon for a minute or two until light and fluffy.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Well, now that you have the basic mashed potato recipe you can go on to make it slightly more interesting. How About trying some of the following variations of Mashed Potato?

Garlic Mashed Potato Recipe

Finely chop 2 to 3 garlic cloves and gently heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan. Add the garlic and heat until it has softened (don't do this on a high heat or the garlic may burn).

Add the oil and the garlic to the mashed potato and stir in well.

Pesto Mashed Potato

For the pesto mashed potato recipe I make the basic mashed potato above by substituting hot stock instead of the milk and 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil instead of the butter. Add a couple of tablespoons of your favourite pesto to the mash and stir in well.

For extra flavour try adding some fresh grated parmesan to the mashed potato.

Mustard And Cheesy Mashed Potato

This is one of my favourites... Add about 25g of butter to the basic mashed potato and beat in a good handful of grated cheddar cheese together with 2 to three tablespoons of your favourite mustard (depending on how hot you like it). I find that wholegrain mustard works particularly well, but the choice is yours.

It's no wonder that some people say that Shepherds Pie is the ultimate in comfort food! With it's yummy meaty filling topped with a nice thick layer of mashed potato, Shepherds Pie has to be my first choice for something else to make with my mashed potato,

Colcannon

Colcannon is an Irish recipe which combines cabbage and spring onion with the mashed potato. It is truly yummy and would go particularly well with your St Patricks Day menu.

Easy Fish Cakes

For these you will need about 500g of the mashed potato, 500g of skinned fish fillets which have been poached in fish stock, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, an egg and some fresh breadcrumbs.

Flake the fish int good sized flakes and mix into the mashed potato together with the chopped parsley. Shape into about 8 fish cakes and dust with flour, then dip into the beaten egg and then the fresh breadcrumbs put in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill. (The chilling is important as it helps to stop the fish cakes breaking apart in the pan).

Heat about 1cm oil in a frying pan and fry the fish cakes, a few at a time, for about 3 to 4 minutes each side until they are nice and golden.

Indian Inspired Mashed Potato Salad

This mashed potato salad works best if the potatoes are coarsely mashed. Adjust the amount of yoghurt used to your particular preference.

Take half the quantity of your basic mashed potato (without the butter and milk) and coarsely mash. Add about 250ml plain yoghurt (fat free works well if you are counting the calories), a teaspoon of roasted cumin seeds and a good pinch of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro). Season with salt and stir well. Chill the mashed potato salad for about an hour before serving.

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