Ingredients
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 head garlic, top sliced off
4 lb. Red Bliss potatoes, peeled and chopped
Kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 c. heavy cream, warmed
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Step 1 Preheat oven to 400°. Drizzle olive oil over top of garlic and wrap in foil. Bake until golden and soft, about 45 minutes, then set aside.Step 2Meanwhile, add potatoes to a large pot. Cover potatoes with a few inches of water (about 6 cups) and season with salt; cover pot and bring to a boil. After about 30 minutes, check if potatoes are soft (a knife should easily slide through them), then drain in a colander. Step 3In a large bowl, mash or rice potatoes, then slowly add melted butter, cream and garlic. Add balsamic, season generously with salt, and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.
Roast your garlic first. Spoiler alert: Roasted garlic is the most satisfying food..maybe ever?! And while it sounds fancy, it’s anything but fussy: Simply toss a whole head (skins and all!) with a bit of olive oil and wrap it up in foil. Bake the whole thing for 45 minutes, and prepare yourself—the garlic cloves loose their spiciness, taking on a sweet flavor and sticky, spreadable texture. We definitely recommend roasting two heads at once here—you can smash the garlic cloves from one head into your mashed potatoes and save the second one to make roasted garlic bread (which is always a good idea). Pick a waxy potato. Potatoes are typically characterized as either waxy or starchy. When you’re looking for baked potato-vibes, starchy potatoes like Russets are the way to go. However, for super-buttery, fluffy mashed potatoes, you need to go thin-skinned and waxy, like Red Bliss. Unlike starchy potatoes, which can get waterlogged when boiled or gluey when whipped, waxy potatoes stay light and creamy and don’t absorb too much water. We also love buttery Yukon Gold potatoes for mashed potatoes like these. Cook them until very tender. The biggest contributor to lumpy mashed potatoes? Boiling potatoes too “al dente”. You’ll know they’re ready to drain when you slide in a knife and meet no resistance. Otherwise, give them more time to soften up. Mash with warm butter and heavy cream. Once the potatoes cook, you want to mash them immediately—you don’t want them cooling down at all! Make sure you don’t mash them with cold butter or cream. This will also cool down the potatoes, resulting in a gummy, not-super-fluffy texture. Don’t skip the salt. Yes, these get plenty of flavor from the roasted garlic, but you don’t want to skip the salt. Mashed potatoes need more than you think to really shine. Make them vegan. Although obviously not as creamy, you can definitely pull off creamy garlic mashed potatoes without the cream. We like to sub in non-dairy coconut or unsweetened almond milk for some of the liquid and vegan butter for regular butter.
Made these? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
