I love mashed potato. Absolutely love it. To the point where I get quite upset if it is not done properly. We had two quite contrary experiences in Florida recently - one where I served the best mashed potato I've ever had in a restaurant, and the second where I was bitterly disappointed that the chef sent out lumpy mash. And this in what was supposedly Florida's highest rated restaurant - and one of the best in America. How hard is it to get your mash right?
Well, up until recently I'd relied on well boiled spuds, and a good potato masher plus a load of hard work to get mine right. And, they were pretty good. But I'd long wanted a potato ricer, and finally got round to buying one this year. I was impressed with the difference it made (and the mess I managed to make with it).
Back to those Florida restaurants. Cafe Lurcat in Naples sent out the most perfect mash - listed on the menu as potato puree. It was silky smooth and highly seasoned with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Perfect. Beach Bistro on Anna Maria Island sent out what they called a "side of chefs mashed". It had squash or something like that in it - plus the lumps I mentioned earlier. And was luke warm. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to mash, I'm not really into all those "flavoured" mashes, although I have been known to eat a bowl of it with tomato ketchup splodged on top on rare occasions. I prefer to let the sauces with my food add any extra flavour. In the mash itself I only ever add: butter (or olive oil), cream (or milk), nutmeg, salt and pepper. Usually white pepper.
After the Lurcat mash, I was pondering on what was the extra something that made it better than mine. Especially now that I have a ricer - my mash should be perfect! Then it stuck me that they were calling it puree... so that was the difference. I mentioned to Roy that they must have passed it through a sieve to get it so smooth. Little did he know that a few weeks later, he'd be acting as my commis chef and doing likewise.
So that's what I tried tonight. I made up the mash as usual and then passed it to Roy with a sieve, bowl and silicone spatula. 20 minutes or so later, he'd passed the lot through the sieve and I warmed it up in a pan (having seen this done on tv cooking shows). It was excellent. Although I'm not sure I'd bother with the sieve-ing part every time I make it. That's it in the photograph. Served with pork chop in mushroom sauce and brussel sprouts. Delicious.
