What is the secret of Delicious Creamy Mashed Potatoes? There are as many secrets to mashed potatoes as there are cooks. Here is my secret: onions sauteed in butter, heavy cream and cheese.
Some people swear that Russet potatoes are the one and only kind to be used to make mashed potatoes and others swear on Yukon Gold. I have used both with great results. I don't really have a favorite. Russets tend to disintegrate more as you cook them, which I don't see as a problem, after all they will be mashed.
The addition of heavy cream to mashed potatoes defies any diet so if you are really worried about calories you can use milk instead. I have even used 1% milk however heavy cream makes it really delicious.
The unique feature of my recipe are the sauteed onions. It adds a lot of taste. But I hear you bachelors and college people who hate chopping onions so you can shred onions instead. OK, you don't really want to deal with onions then use 1 teaspoon onion powder. But promise me you'll try to make this recipe with real onions at least once. By the way c heck out the tutorial How to Chop Onions.
How many potatoes in 2 lb? It depends on the size of the potatoes. It can be from 3 to 6 potatoes. The best is to weight the potatoes.
What You Need:
2 lb potatoes - Russet or Yukon Gold (I used Russet)
1/2 cup shredded or chopped white onion - about 1 cup (actually yellow and purple onion also work)
2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
What To Do:
Peel the potatoes.
Cut them in relatively small chunks.
Put the potatoes in a pan with 1 teaspoon salt and enough cold water to be 1 inch above them.
Let it boil.
Reduce heat to low and let it simmer to cook the potatoes. About 15 - 20 minutes. Test if the potatoes are soft by poking them with a fork. They need to be fully cooked so the fork should easily go through them.
Drain the potatoes in a colander. And place the hot potatoes in a bowl.
Reserve.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onions.
Saute the onions until they change color. They become almost transparent.
Add the potatoes and heavy cream.
Mash with a potato masher.
Add the Parmesan and taste to determine how much salt and pepper is needed.
Mix well.
If you want the mashed potatoes to be softer add more heavy cream or just some milk.
Bon Appétit!
Mashed Potatoes 2
- 3 lb potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 oz Cream Cheese (1 package)
- 1/4 cup milk (full cream preferably or half and half)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder (or you can saute 1/2 cup onions in 2 tablespoons butter)
- salt and pepper
What To Do:
- Peel and cook potatoes for about 15-20 min.
- Drain.
- Saute the onions in 2 tablespoons butter or skip this step if using powdered onion.
- Mash potatoes and milk with a potato masher.
- Add cream cheese, salt and pepper and onion powder and stir well.
