Mashed potatoes are a delicious side dish loved by many. He prepares simply. As a rule, mashed potatoes are made with milk, which gives airiness to the dish. But even without it, mashed potatoes are no worse. The main thing is to know some of the secrets of cooking potatoes.
First of all, you need to choose the right potato variety. The quality of the dish largely depends on it. For mashed potatoes, it is recommended to choose not very starchy round tubers with pink and red peels, which quickly and well boil. The most delicious, tender and melting in the mouth is mashed potatoes of the Sineglazka and Adretta varieties.
Peel and rinse the potatoes thoroughly under running water. Pour cold water into a saucepan and put on fire. As soon as the water boils, dip the prepared potatoes into it. If the tubers are large, they should be cut into halves or quarters. If desired, you can add various spices and spices to the water (bay leaf, green or dried dill, tarragon, etc.). Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes over medium heat, periodically tasting with a knife. When the tubers are easy to pierce, the potatoes are ready. Do not forget to add salt to the potatoes 5 minutes before they are ready.
Gently drain the broth into a bowl or cup, and keep the pot with potatoes for some time over low heat or put in a preheated oven. This is done to evaporate the remaining moisture.
After that, without letting the potatoes cool, wipe them through a sieve or thoroughly mash them with a wooden crush. Then add butter and salt (if necessary) and gradually, stirring continuously, pour in the hot potato broth. Whip everything well into a fluffy mass and serve hot.
Mashed potatoes can be an independent dish or a side dish for cutlets, sausages, ham and other meat dishes, as well as boiled, fried or baked fish.
To make mashed potatoes for 1 kg of potatoes, you will need 1 cup of potato broth and 2 tablespoons of butter. If you plan to make mashed potatoes of a more liquid consistency, then you should take more broth.
The dish turns out to be very tasty if you replace the butter with olive oil. You can also fry chopped onions or green onions in sunflower oil and add such frying to mashed potatoes instead of butter.
Mashed potatoes can be varied with various vegetable and even fruit additives. To make mashed potatoes with beets and apples, you will need:
- 500 g of potatoes;
- 1 apple;
- 400 g of beets;
- 150 ml of potato broth;
- 50 g butter;
- salt;
- nutmeg (ground).
Boil the beets and potatoes separately. Peel and core the apple. Then cut it into small cubes and add to the pot with potatoes 5 minutes before cooking. Then mash all the ingredients to a puree-like consistency, add salt, potato broth, nutmeg to taste and beat the puree until fluffy.
