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Well, the risotto style is sort of a misnomer.  But, the mashed potatoes still came out good.

Taking a cue from risotto, why not cook the potatoes in some sort of stock or other flavored liquid?  In the end, it didn’t seem to make much difference.  But it’s an interesting experiment.  I ended up wasting a little too much of the cooking liquid this time.  The next time I’ll try to reduce the liquid down to a minimum.  Here goes.

Ingredients

1.  About 1.5 pounds of your favorite potatoes – if you don’t have a favorite, use what you have – or if you do have a favorite, but still don’t have them, use what you have – if you have none, try borrowing – at the very least, on your next trip to the store, buy some, if they’re on sale – if they’re not on sale, wait – unless you really need a bowl of mashed potatoes now – in which case, buy some

2.   1 – 14 ounce can chicken broth

3.  about 5 cloves of garlic,  smashed, mashed or diced into pieces that most people won’t find objectionable – for anyone who does find the pieces objectionable, they don’t have to come for dinner the next time

4.  about a tablespoon of dried parsley – adds a little character to the looks

5.  about a teaspoon of salt – or to your taste

6.  about a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper – or to your taste

7.  about two tablespoons olive oil (or butter) – the good stuff that has some flavor to it

8. a 1/2 of a 14 ounce chicken broth can of milk (or 7 ounces)

Instructions

Combine the milk and chicken stock in a small pot just big enough to hold the liquid and the potatoes.  Heat on medium-high until it comes to a boil.

Peel and cut the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes of nearly equal size.  The smaller cubes will cook through faster.  The nearly equal size means they all cook through in the same amount of time.  Put the potatoes in the boiling liquid, stir and return to a slow boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with the lid slightly ajar (I always wanted to use the word ajar in a sentence, other than a jar of grape jelly).  We actually want some of the liquid to simmer off so that the amount of liquid is reduced.  Cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft throughout.  Remove from the heat.

Pour off the cooking liquid into a clean bowl.  Mash the potatoes in the pot with a potato masher or similar instrument of destruction.  If the mashed potatoes are not the consistency you like, mix back in a small amount of the cooking liquid saved in your clean bowl.  If the potatoes are still not where you want them, mix in another small amount of the cooking liquid.   The potatoes can take a surprising amount of liquid without becoming overly watery.  But once you get near their limit, be careful.  It’s sort of like mixing water into dry concrete, for any of you who have mixed concrete.

When the mashed potatoes are as firm or soft as you want them, stir in salt and pepper to taste.  Mix in the two tablespoons of olive oil (or butter),  the garlic and the parsley.  Stir to blend all together.

Notes

As an experiment, it’s now your turn to add your variations.  While still comfort food, it’s not risotto.  There’s the misnomer from above.  And no matter how good your or my variation might be, it will never be as good as grandma’s.

If you came here looking for a risotto recipe, try these:  Simple Basic Risotto     Spicy Vegetarian Risotto.

Tags: comfort food, cooking, food, garlic mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes, recipe, recipes

This entry was posted on 04/02/2011 at 09:41 and is filed under Recipes, Recipes, food, cooking and related items. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.