Rustic Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes
These potatoes have passed the taste tests of my most sophisticated friends as well as my toddler nieces. This is food that will have the whole mishpacha wanting seconds.
Of course, like in most of these recipes, the key is the quality of the ingredients. In this case, it all comes down to the broth. If you’re not a homemade broth maker, use Cheater’s Chicken Broth. It’s so easy even a schlemazel could make it.
These mashed potatoes are textured, not whipped, and keep their skins. Eat them with juicy mains like Angie’s Chicken (page 362), Chicken alla Cacciatora, or The Best Brisket Ever.
Serves 6 to 10
Ingredients
2 pounds russet potatoes, about 4 small or 2 large
4 bay leaves
4 1-inch pieces of fresh rosemary
1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1⁄2 to 2 1⁄2 cups No-Chop Chicken Broth (Page 150) or No-Chop Veggie Broth (Page 153), warmed
1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt
20 to 30 grinds freshly ground pepper, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Slice the potatoes in half, keeping the skin on. Place 1 to 2 bay leaves and 1 to 2 pieces of rosemary in between the two halves, and wrap them back together in a double layers of parchment paper and then in aluminum foil. (This way it’s not wrapped in metals.)
Bake the potatoes for about an hour or more. They should be soft and easily “squeezable” with oven mitts on. The exact timing will depend on the size of your potatoes.
Remove the potatoes and let them sit in their wrapping until they cool a little and continue to soften, about 20 minutes.
Unwrap the potatoes, remove and discard the herbs, and cut them into the smallest pieces possible.
Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, 1 1⁄2 cups of the warm broth, salt, and pepper, if using. Use a potato masher or potato ricer to mash the potatoes and get out as many chunks as possible, adding more broth to help you smooth them out. You will still have some small chunks which I find add a delightful texture. Taste, and add salt or pepper, if needed. Add more broth if you prefer a lighter, thinner consistency.
Place the mixture into a medium casserole dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake until very hot, about 30 minutes.
Note: If you happen to be making broth, cook the potatoes in it! See “As Long As You’re Making Broth” (Page 150).
Make Ahead Prep: If you choose, you can do steps 1 through 6 earlier in day or several days in advance. When preparing the dish ahead, err on the side of adding too much broth, as the dish will dry out a bit in fridge. Transfer the mixture to a medium casserole dish, cover, and refrigerate. If you bake it directly from the fridge, give it extra time in the oven.
No-Chop Chicken Broth
Of all the recipes in this book, homemade broth might be both the easiest and the most life-changing. With just a couple of minutes prep and a few hours of unsupervised simmering on the stovetop, homemade broth will elevate your cooking into the upper stratosphere of top-bitch badassery.
You don’t need to peel. You don’t need to chop. You don’t need to even be awake. If you can throw whole vegetables into a pot, cover them with water, and then go take a nap for a couple of hours, you can make broth.
There is no canned, cubed, or boxed substitute for what grandmothers around the world have always known: homemade chicken broth will change your life and bring deep, soul-filling satisfaction to everyone you feed. Go for it.
Makes 3 quarts
Ingredients
3 pounds chicken necks and backs (if you can’t find necks and backs, use wings and legs)
2 whole onions
4 to 5 whole cloves
3 whole carrots
3 to 4 celery stalks
2 bay leaves
5 to 6 peppercorns
A large handful of flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a stock pot and add enough water to cover. (You don’t need to chop anything, hence the name of this recipe!)
Bring the water to a boil, cover, and let simmer slowly for at least a couple of hours. Better yet, let it simmer all day long. Skim off any foam that doesn’t look appealing.
Let it cool, as this process adds flavor.
Season well with salt. If it’s not tasty, add more salt! (See Note)
Once cooled, it may be refrigerated. If desired, skim off the fat the next day.
Note: Broth has no flavor unless you add salt. And it takes more than you think. I tend to make a batch of broth and freeze it for future uses, without any salt. That way I just salt it as I use it, recipe per recipe.
Variations: Below I have added some possible add-ins and why you might choose to use them:
» Any other root vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, and rutabagas, for richer flavor.
» Dill. This is a favorite with Jewish chicken soup makers.
» Parsnips. They add a sweet, earthy flavor. Parsnips were always in my grandma’s soups. (Recommended if you are making matzo ball soup.)
» Beef knuckle marrow bones. They add depth of flavor.