Mashed potatoes. How to make delicious mashed potatoes

Potatoes are a universal product that is known all over the world. It is fried, boiled, baked, deep-fried, stuffed in pies. Mashed potatoes are a hearty, tasty and healthy side dish. It is not difficult to make it at all, and therefore in many families where housewives are too lazy to cook a variety of foods, mashed potatoes are eaten almost every day. If you love this dish, then know that its taste can be diversified with additional products, changing it almost beyond recognition.

Mashed potatoes - preparing food and dishes

In order to prepare mashed potatoes, even unusual ones, the preparation of the main product is standard. Potatoes need to be washed under running water, peeled with a knife, cut into 2-3 pieces and put on the stove to boil, filling the pan with water.

Potatoes cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the variety. To find out if it's ready, pierce it with a toothpick - the stick should go in gently. Do not overcook the potatoes, otherwise the mashed potatoes will not be homogeneous, but with lumps.

An important tip - use clean drinking water to boil potatoes. Then, with the liquid in which the potatoes were boiled, you will dilute the mashed potatoes, making it more rare.

How to turn boiled potatoes into mashed potatoes? It is best to use a wooden pestle or pusher - this item made of natural material will not transfer any foreign tastes or odors to hot potatoes. You can also grind slightly chilled potatoes with a blender or mixer.

Mashed Potato Recipes:

Recipe 1: Mashed Potatoes

The presented recipe is the simplest and most common, without any frills. Such mashed potatoes will be delicious served with meat products, pouring gravy or adding a little butter. Such potatoes can be seasoned with ground pepper, dried basil or chopped herbs.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes 4-5 medium-sized root vegetables
• Water for potatoes
• condiments
• Butter

Cooking method:

1. Pour the peeled and chopped potatoes in a saucepan with water and put to boil on the stove. After the water boils, salt the water. Boil potatoes for about 15-20 minutes over low heat under a closed lid.
2. When the potatoes are soft, drain some of the water where they boiled into a cup, and pour the rest. Start mashing the potatoes with a potato masher, turning it into a puree. Add liquid little by little, thinning the puree.
3. When you see that the mashed potatoes have acquired the desired consistency, add a piece of butter and spices to it, mix.

Recipe 2: Paprichnoe Mashed Potatoes

A small amount of bell pepper in the recipe will change the taste of mashed potatoes, and also give the dish a pleasant pinkish tint. The spices are perfect for thyme and basil.

Required Ingredients:

• Medium potatoes 4-5 pieces
• Bulgarian pepper 1 piece
• Puree water
• Butter
• Ketchup with bell pepper 100 ml
• Thyme

Cooking method:

1. Peeled and chopped potatoes should be poured with water and boiled on the stove. After the water has boiled, salt the potatoes.
2. Wash the bell pepper, remove the middle and cut into pieces. Add it to the pot with the potatoes ten minutes after the water boils.
3. After 8-10 minutes, remove the potatoes and peppers from the stove, pour some of the liquid into a cup, and pour the rest. Mash the potatoes with a masher, turning them into a puree. Add liquid and ketchup little by little, thinning the puree. If you use spicy ketchup, the puree will get a spicy taste.
4. When you see that the paprika mashed potatoes have reached the desired consistency, add a piece of butter and thyme leaves to it, mix.

Recipe 3: Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese and Tomatoes

Such a dish will resemble the usual potato very remotely, only a delicate taste and texture will be preserved. This puree is prepared in Italian restaurants and is most often served with fish.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes 5-6 pieces
• 2 medium sized tomatoes
• Pasty cream cheese 100 grams
• Garlic 2 cloves
• White sesame 1 tablespoon
• Sunflower oil
• Butter
• condiments

Cooking method:

1. Peeled and chopped potatoes should be poured with water and boiled on the stove. After the water boils, salt the potatoes and boil them until soft.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the tomatoes. Wash, cut them into cubes as small as possible. Remove the husk from the garlic and cut it into pieces. Heat the pan, grease with oil and put the garlic first, then the tomatoes. Saute vegetables for about 5 minutes. At the last minute, sprinkle the mixture with sesame seeds.
3. As soon as the potatoes are cooked, start mashing them, adding quite a bit of liquid, cream cheese, butter.
4. Put the vegetables from the pan into the finished puree, mix gently with a spoon and serve.

Recipe 4: Abkhazian Mashed Potatoes

Do not be alarmed when you see orange juice in the recipe - it will not spoil the taste of potatoes, but, on the contrary, will emphasize the overall softness and spice of the dish. Serve this mashed potato with grilled meats, especially pork or lamb. The turmeric in the recipe will give the puree an unusual orange color, but you can choose not to use it.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes 5-6 pieces
• Carrot 1 piece
• Puree water
• Milk 100 ml
• condiments
• Turmeric 1 teaspoon
• Orange juice 50 ml

Cooking method:

1. Wash the carrots and cut into cubes. Add it to the pot 10 minutes after the water and potatoes have boiled.
2. Remove the cooked potatoes from the stove, drain the liquid and mash with a potato masher. Gradually add juice and milk to puree. Milk should not be cold, but at room temperature. Add turmeric and butter, mix well and serve.

Recipe 5: French Mashed Potatoes

French mustard with grains will change the taste of mashed potatoes, and sour cream in the recipe will make the dish very juicy and satisfying. Instead of sour cream, you can also add heavy cream warmed to room temperature.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes 5-6 pieces
• Puree water
• Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons
• Sour cream 100 ml (or heavy cream)
• Pine nut
• Butter
• condiments

Cooking method:

1. Pour the peeled and chopped potatoes with water and boil on the stove. After the water boils, salt the water. Boil potatoes until soft.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, roast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan for 4-5 minutes, and then chop.
3. As soon as the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the stove, drain the liquid and mash with a potato masher. Gradually add the sour cream, pine nuts and Dijon mustard, stirring constantly.

Recipe 6: Mashed Potatoes with Broccoli and Herbs

A dish with fragrant herbs and broccoli will take you to a spring meadow at any time of the year.

Required Ingredients:

• Potatoes 5-6 pieces
• Puree water
• Broccoli 200 grams
• Dill fresh
• White sesame
• Butter
• condiments

Cooking method:

1. Pour the peeled and chopped potatoes with water and boil on the stove. After the water boils, salt the water. Boil potatoes until soft.
2. Boil the broccoli in a separate saucepan for about 5 minutes in boiling water.
3. Cool the broccoli and puree it in a blender along with the dill, butter and parsley.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the stove, drain some of the liquid into a cup and mash with a potato masher. Gradually add liquid from the cup, mashed broccoli, sesame seeds. To make this puree more savory, add a teaspoon of wasabi to it.

1. One of the secrets to a delicious puree is thorough cleaning. It is not only about peeling off the skin, but also cutting out all the “eyes”, green and unripe places. If such black and dense pieces are caught in mashed potatoes, it will spoil the impression of a delicious dish.
2. When cutting potatoes into pieces before you start cooking them, do not try to chop them too much. It is believed that finely chopped potatoes lose more of their vitamins. A tuber cut into three or four parts is the most correct number of pieces.
3. Don't overcook the potatoes, but don't leave them undercooked either, or the mashed potatoes will be patchy even if you grind them a lot.
4. To make the finished mashed potatoes more fluffy, beat it twice. The first time is standard, using a pusher or pestle. And when the puree has cooled down a bit, beat it with a mixer for 2-3 minutes.
5. When you mash boiled potatoes, instead of the liquid where the potatoes were boiled, you can use meat broth or milk. Milk must be warmed up or at least at room temperature.
6. Mashed potatoes will turn out more satisfying and nutritious if you add egg yolk or light cream to it.
7. What spices can be added to puree? In addition to the usual salt and pepper, use thyme, basil, saffron, fried onions, chopped herbs.

It would seem, what could be easier than making mashed potatoes? Anyone can boil and mash potatoes. But, unfortunately, it does not always turn out really tasty. Gray, viscous, too dry or, on the contrary, too liquid - such a puree can hardly be called ideal. I offer an extremely simple option: classic (according to the canons developed back in the Soviet years) mashed potatoes, a recipe with milk and butter. All. No more fancy ingredients. We will also mash potatoes in the old fashioned way - with an ordinary wooden pusher or a metal potato masher. Here it is better to do without the use of modern kitchen appliances. Even without them, you will get the most delicious, tender and airy puree of all that you have ever tried!

Ingredients:

• potatoes - 1 kg,
• milk (better fatter, I have 3.2%) - 150 ml,
• butter - 50 g,
• salt - 3/4 tbsp. l. (or to taste).

How to make mashed potatoes with milk

My potatoes, cut off the skin. If necessary, cut large tubers into pieces so that all the potatoes turn out to be approximately the same size. The smaller the potatoes are cut, the faster they will cook.

Next, pour water into a saucepan where potatoes will be boiled and let it boil. To save time, you can boil water in an electric kettle. We lower the potatoes into the gurgling water, add salt to it. The water should completely cover the potatoes.

Close the saucepan with a lid and cook the potatoes until tender on a medium heat of the stove. Usually the potatoes reach readiness in about 15 minutes. We pierce the tubers with a knife (or fork) and, if it enters gently, the potatoes are ready.

We completely drain all the liquid from the finished potato and immediately knead it with a pusher (I have a wooden one). Without liquid, it is much easier to turn potatoes into mashed potatoes without lumps.

Almost ready, it remains only to add butter and milk to the mashed potatoes. An important point: so that the puree does not turn out to be disgustingly viscous and viscous, and does not change color to an unappetizing gray, both ingredients must be hot. First add the butter to the puree, after melting it in the microwave.

We mix the butter into the puree with quick circular movements and gradually begin to pour in the milk, also preheated in the micro. Pour milk in two to four approaches. They poured a portion - mashed the milk with a crush until the milk was completely absorbed, poured it again - mashed it again and so on until you get the puree of the consistency you need.

I pour in all the milk and, for my taste, it turns out perfectly tender, airy mashed potatoes. It's best to serve it right away. An excellent side dish for any fish or meat dishes, very tasty with a salad or just with herbs.

Mashed potatoes are the most popular and beloved side dish in our country. It is difficult to say which dish the hostesses cook as often as mashed potatoes. It is truly universal: tasty, plastic, allows you to experiment with design. Mashed potatoes are wonderfully combined with any meat, vegetables, fish, leaving a feeling of satiety for a long time. Perhaps, in Russia, in popularity, this dish confidently overtakes even pasta, not to mention cereals and vegetables.

But in order for puree to really deliver pleasure - and not only in taste, but also in appearance - it must be properly prepared. It doesn't require any special talent. According to the classical canons (or rather, technical and technological maps developed in the blessed Soviet years), this dish is prepared from boiled potatoes, butter, milk and salt. All. No secret ingredients, no fancy electrical appliances. Armed with an ordinary wooden pestle, you can make the perfect mashed potatoes.

Cook the right potatoes the right way

For the perfect puree, you want to buy the best, young, freshly harvested potatoes. And this is exactly what you shouldn't do. Young potatoes have their own charm: they are crumbly, tasty, but completely unsuitable for mashing. It is better to cook it in its uniform, and for mashed potatoes, take potatoes from the previous crop. Of course, this does not mean that the tubers should be green and sprouted.

Elastic, with a smooth dense skin, the tubers are cleaned, thoroughly washed with water and boiled until cooked, dipped in hot water. Salt should be as soon as the water boils. You don’t need to cut the potatoes very finely: this way, of course, it will cook faster, but it will lose a lot of starch. As soon as the potatoes are ready, they need to be drained and slightly dried over a fire.

Everything must be hot.

Directly preparing mashed potatoes is as easy as shelling pears: dried potatoes are kneaded, and during this process butter and milk are added to it in several stages. The main problem that most cooks have when making mashed potatoes is color and consistency. Let us omit the cases when, in order to save money, water is taken instead of butter - here one cannot count on excellent results. But even with the right ingredients, mashed potatoes can be too gooey and nasty greyish. And the secret is that mashed potatoes should be made exclusively from hot potatoes, the temperature of which is not lower than 80 ° C. The butter and milk added to the potatoes should also be hot. This mixture of hot ingredients will give you smooth, creamy white mashed potatoes.

Options are possible

Any self-respecting chef will try to improve the classic mashed potatoes depending on the moment. Sometimes it turns out so beautifully if you add curly parsley, finely chopped dill or carrot puree to ordinary puree. For children, you can build whole pictures of mashed potatoes, vegetables and herbs on a plate. Sophisticated gourmets emphasize the taste of mashed potatoes with ground pepper, garlic, cheese and even nuts. But most importantly, never reheat cold mashed potatoes. Its shelf life is only two hours. After that, mashed potatoes can be used to make potato pie, zraz, casseroles, fillings, but it can no longer be a side dish.

Make this amazingly delicious mashed potato. According to this recipe, mashed potatoes are tender and airy, as if from childhood, as if cooked by the caring hands of a grandmother. Try it, you will definitely like it.

Ingredients:

(4-6 servings)

• 1.5 kg. potatoes
• 75 gr. butter
• 150-200 gr. milk

• The preparation of any dish begins with the choice of ingredients. And since the main ingredient in mashed potatoes is potatoes, the quality and taste of mashed potatoes largely depend on the potatoes. To make the puree white and airy, we choose crumbly varieties of potatoes with white pulp. If the pulp is yellow, then the puree will turn out the same color. Do not buy potatoes with gray, watery flesh.
• We clean the washed potatoes. Trim the peel as close to the edge of the peel as possible. And the question here is not about saving potatoes, the fact is that vitamins are located in the upper layer, just under the peel, and not in the pulp.
• If there are eyes or green areas on the surface of the potato, then carefully cut them off. Green color indicates that those places have accumulated a substance harmful to the body - solanine.
• Rinse peeled potatoes with cold water. It is not advisable to keep potatoes in water for a long time, because the tubers lose starch, and the potatoes become tasteless.
• We cut potatoes, pour cold water, salt and put on fire.

• When the water in the pan boils, reduce the heat and cook the potatoes until fully cooked. Usually it is 15-20 minutes.
• To check the potatoes for readiness, we pierce it with a match, a metal pin or an ordinary knife. If the match enters the pulp easily, then the potato is ready. Potatoes should not be overcooked.
• Carefully, so as not to burn yourself with hot steam, drain the water.

• With a mortar or a special crush, carefully crush the hot potatoes.

• We heat milk on fire or in the microwave. Pour hot milk in small portions.

• Add butter.

• Beat the mashed potatoes by hand or with a stand mixer. Continue adding milk little by little. The amount of milk depends on what consistency we want to get puree. The more milk, the more tender and airy the mashed potatoes are, but it is important not to overdo it so that the mashed potatoes do not turn out to be too liquid. The puree should be homogeneous, dense and airy at the same time. Don't forget to taste the salt.
• Important!!! For whipping mashed potatoes, you cannot use a conventional blender with knives, since during such processing the structure of the potato mass changes, and instead of airy mashed potatoes, a sticky mass is obtained.
• Well-cooked mashed potatoes do not spread on the plate, they retain their shape and volume.

• We serve mashed potatoes hot to the table, for example, as a side dish for fried meat. By the way, from yesterday's puree you can cook very tasty and

Crushed potatoes are also called mashed potatoes. The side dish is known among our compatriots due to its light texture and taste. Mashed potatoes go well with mushrooms, minced meat, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish. This makes them love him even more. Let's look at the basic recipes and the subtleties of cooking.

Choice of mashed potatoes

As can be understood from the foregoing, crushed potatoes are prepared on the basis of potatoes. There are also requirements for the main ingredient of the dish. Potato tubers must accumulate a lot of starch. This puree will be soft and fluffy.

To understand if there is enough starch, you need to wash the tuber and cut it. After that, try to squeeze the two halves and rub them together. If the parts stick together, there is enough starch, the crush can be cooked.

Technology for making mashed potatoes

After selecting suitable tubers, it is necessary to study the intricacies of the heat treatment of potatoes.

1. Potatoes are peeled, peeled, cut into 4 equal sections. Many people make the mistake of leaving potatoes in cold water after peeling. All starch is washed out as a result of such actions. It is necessary to immediately send the tubers to boiling water and cook.
2. For a uniform broth of potatoes, you need to set the appropriate fire. Do not simmer the tubers at maximum power, set the minimum or average. Also an important aspect is the amount of water, the liquid should slightly cover the vegetables.
3. The duration of cooking potato tubers for mashed potatoes varies from a third to a quarter of an hour. Don't overcook as the potatoes will crumble. In the process of whipping, you will get some lumps.
4. To determine whether the tubers are cooked or not, stick them on a knife or fork. Potatoes should fall off the appliance, not hang on it. After cooking, drain the water, proceed to grinding.
5. Crushed potatoes are prepared with the help of improvised tools. You can skip the boiled tubers through a combine, send to a blender or beat with a pestle. For softness, milk is added to the eye in parallel.

Classic mashed potatoes

• potatoes - 0.9-1 kg.
• butter - 60 gr.
• fat milk - 300 ml.
• salt - to your taste

1. First, prepare the tubers for further manipulations. Rinse them thoroughly under the tap, get rid of the dirt with a sponge. Remove the peel, cut the potatoes into 2-4 parts for simplification and uniformity of cooking.
2. Send the prepared vegetable to a container, pour boiling water. The liquid should rise above the cut potatoes by 1-2 cm, no more. Add water during the evaporation process.
3. Note the time after the start of bubbling. After 15-20 minutes, the potatoes will be ready, you can determine this with a knife or fork. Drain the water. Heat the milk to match the temperature of the potatoes.
4. Send butter to potatoes, add a little milk. Arm yourself with a pusher, start crushing the tubers. You can simplify the process by using an immersion blender. At this stage, you need to salt the puree.

Puree with tomatoes and sesame

• tomato - 2 pcs.
• potatoes - 7 tubers
• butter - 50 gr.
• garlic - 2 cloves
• white sesame - 10 gr.
• soft cream cheese - 0.1 kg.

1. Peel, cut, boil potatoes. Wash the tomatoes, free them from the stalks, cut into cubes. Remove the husk from the garlic, crush with a press or chop.
2. Heat the frying pan, add butter, send garlic and tomatoes for frying. Fry them on medium power for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. After this time, add the sesame seeds.
3. Mash the potatoes with a pestle with the rest of the broth. Enter the grated cheese and a little butter, salt. Send tomatoes and garlic inside, mix, serve.

• butter - 50-60 gr.
• salt - to your taste
• potatoes - 1.2 kg.

1. Prepare the potatoes by washing and removing the skins. Cut into 2-4 sections, throw into a saucepan for cooking. Fill with boiling water, it should cover the tubers by a couple of centimeters.
2. After boiling, boil the potatoes for a third of an hour. When it slides off the knife easily, drain most of the liquid, reserving some of the broth for thinning.
3. Add oil to the potatoes, salt, pour in the broth gradually. Mash the tubers with a pestle or immersion blender, serve with any other food.

Puree with minced meat

• butter - 110 gr.
• minced meat - 470 gr.
• cheese - 140 gr.
• mashed potatoes - 500 gr.
• cream - 450 ml.

1. Warm up the potato mass in a convenient way and beat again. Prepare a baking sheet by generously brushing it with oil. Lay the puree on a tray. In parallel, fry the minced meat in a pan, add onions to enhance the taste.
2. Lay the meat mass on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle food with grated cheese. The dish will turn out with a unique taste and appetizing crust. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, send a baking sheet into it.
3. Set the timer on the stove and wait half an hour. After the allotted time, take out the tray with the finished dish. Wait a bit to cool down. Divide the pie into portions, serve with sour cream sauce.

Puree with hard cheese

• hard cheese - 220 gr.
• salt - to taste
• butter - 70 gr.
• allspice - in fact
• potatoes - 500 gr.
• garlic - 10 teeth

1. Place a pot of water on the stove, turn on the gas at maximum power. At the same time, wash and peel the potatoes. To make the boiling process faster, chop the root crop into pieces. Send the vegetable to boiling water.
2. After cooking, mash the potatoes until a homogeneous mass is formed according to the classic recipe. Peel the garlic and send to fry in a hot frying pan with butter. In parallel, grate the cheese on a grater.
3. Mix cheese, spices to taste and oil into the finished puree, garlic is not needed, get rid of it. Mix ingredients thoroughly and serve. Potato dish can be decorated with sprigs of fresh herbs.

Puree with garlic

• milk - 180 ml.
• Dutch cheese - 110 gr.
• milk - 210 ml.
• garlic - 3 cloves
• butter - 60 gr.
• potatoes - 400 gr.

1. Wash and peel the potatoes, cut into several pieces, send to boil. For quick cooking, cover the pan with a lid and set the stove to maximum power.
2. After the potatoes have boiled, drain the water and stir in the milk. Turn the products into a homogeneous gruel. Add salt as needed, keep in mind that the cheese gives its taste.
3. Peel the garlic and turn it into a pulp with improvised tools. Combine raw materials with soft butter. Grate the cheese and mix all the ingredients. Serve puree at the table.

• pumpkin pulp - 400 gr.
• Parmesan cheese - 45 gr.
• potatoes - 480 gr.
• butter - 60 gr.
• sage - 3 sprigs
• salt - in fact
• milk - 190 ml.
• ground nutmeg - to taste

1. Boil potatoes according to the usual scheme, turn into a homogeneous mass in the classic way. Use a separate container, fill with water, put a sprig of sage and add pieces of pumpkin. Boil the vegetable until tender.
2. The procedure may take 10 to 15 minutes. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. After that, heat up a frying pan with butter. Simmer the product with sage. The output should be a fragrant sauce. Warm up the milk.
3. Mix mashed potatoes and boiled pumpkin. Gradually pour in the milk. Once the mixture has a uniform consistency, add the missing ingredients. Sprinkle with nutmeg and salt to taste.

Puree with mushrooms

• sour cream - 60 gr.
• garlic - 4 cloves
• mashed potatoes - 900 gr.
• mushrooms - 250 gr.
• butter - 65 gr.

1. Warm the puree and combine with milk, mix thoroughly until smooth. You can add spices and fragrant seasonings to the mass to taste. Set the finished product aside.
2. Turn the garlic into a pulp using a special device. Fry the finished composition in butter. Next, enter the prepared mushrooms. Stir the product until a golden crust forms.
3. Pack mashed potatoes on portioned plates, put a side dish in the form of fried mushrooms on top or next to it. The dish goes well with various sauces.

Puree with mustard

• cream - 100 ml.
• potatoes - 300 gr.
• pine nuts - in fact
• Dijon mustard - 90 gr.
• seasonings - to taste

1. Prepare the potatoes in the classic way and mash them. Stir in cream and seasonings to taste. Next, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan. The procedure will take no more than 5 minutes.
2. Enter nuts and mustard into the finished mass. Stir the ingredients until smooth. Serve puree with meat or fish delicacies.

1. To make the puree really tasty and not have flaws, it is important to thoroughly peel the potatoes. The tubers should not have damage and dark eyes. It is best to use a young root vegetable for the dish.
2. To facilitate the process and cooking time, it is best to divide the potatoes into 4 parts before cooking. In addition, in this form, the root crop retains a sufficient amount of nutrients.
3. If you like lush and airy mashed potatoes, then the first time you should knead the mass with a crush. The second time it is recommended to resort to the help of a mixer.

It's easy to make mashed potatoes at home, just follow the instructions. Almost any product goes well with the root crop. Don't be afraid to experiment and add something new to the recipe.

Video: how to make delicious mashed potatoes