If it was reasonable to live off of potatoes, I would. Fried, baked, boiled.. Fries, mashed, hashbrowns, patties… literally, I will eat them every single way. So when I was going through my Lidia (that’s what I’ve come to call my copy of Lidia Bastianich’s Mastering the Art of Italian Cooking) and I saw Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, I added them to my calendar for a review.
Now, Lidia recommends using Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes. I just used the purple ones that were in the cupboard, and they worked just fine. I gave them a scrub, put them in a pot and then filled it until they were covered.. just like the directions. I have only boiled potatoes without peeling them once before – that was for gnocchi in Florence at a pasta making course I took (literally the best day of my life and even Ian wouldn’t be offended if I said it was better than our wedding day, which it obviously wasn’t, but definitely a very close second). Must be an Italian thing.
Honestly, I didn’t think the potatoes would take 40 minutes to cook… but they did. It is nice, however, as it gives you a chance to get whatever else you are cooking for dinner ready. I prepared a meatloaf (I’ll post that recipe on Sunday). Once the potatoes could be pierced with a fork, I emptied them into a colander (I usually just call it a strainer, but this is a fancy blog) and just let them sit there until they were cool to the touch before peeling them.
If you do only one thing I ever tell you, please let it be this: WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE PRETTY COOL TO THE TOUCH OR YOU’LL BURN YOUR FINGERS. I empty a restaurant dishwasher a million times a day (aka I’ve probably burned off my fingerprints by now) and I felt like my potatoes were still too hot to handle. Obviously, I’m impatient and handled them anyways because of how I am as a person (did I mention that I am impatient.. I hate the microwave).
I don’t have a potato ricer, so I just used a regular masher and just mashed each potato a couple of times. I added the oil, salt and pepper and stirred with a wooden spoon. Stirring them smooths them out a bit.
While still a bit lumpy, these potatoes have a pretty smooth texture from the oil. I mustn’t have used enough potatoes (I used 5, assuming they added to 2 pounds) because the olive oil taste was very strong. So next time I think I will use a little bit less oil – or more potatoes. I definitely should have added more salt and pepper as well. But I was definitely loving the smoothness of the potatoes from the oil! I usually just use butter, milk, seasoning salt and garlic powder but these were a pretty good change!
I will also take Lidia’s advice (as if she gave it to me personally) and try out some garlic cloves next time. It would appear there is a lot of room for improvement, but I definitely recommend these potatoes!
