Truth be told, the hubby and I are not to big mashed potato eaters. They tend to be a bit on the ‘blah’ side. That is until I concocted these. It combines some of our favorite flavors: rosemary (which pairs perfectly with potatoes), lemon and Parmesan to elevate plain mashed potatoes into something a bit more sophisticated and special. With very little extra effort. In fact, I didn’t peel or use beaters or a potato ricer to make these; I simply use a wooden spoon to break up the small red potatoes called for in this recipe. And although this recipe calls for butter, to turn these into low fat mash potatoes, swap out the butter with fat free evaporated milk.
Rosemary Lemon (S)mashed Potatoes), Serves 4
- 1.5 lbs of red potatoes
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp. finely chopped rosemary
- 1 tsp minced lemon zest (more if you’d like)
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- salt and pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
- In a small bowl, combine Parmesan cheese, chopped rosemary and lemon zest.
- Pierce each potato with a fork or knife to let steam escape while baking. Bake for 30 minutes, test to see if done (insert a knife into a potato to see if it is tender). When done, remove to large bowl and mash with back of a wooden spoon. Once broken up (remove too-large pieces of skin if necessary), add butter, cheese, rosemary and zest; mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
You can make these a day or two in advance and keep them in the fridge. Bring to room temperature and then heat 15 minutes in a 350 F oven. To finish, you can broil them for a couple of minutes to achieve a top crust as shown in the picture above. Make sure you check after two minutes so that they don’t burn.
SallyBR says
Great twist on mashed potatoes, we also rarely make it, and when I do, I sometimes add chicken stock instead of butter, or with a very small amount of butter or milk. works for us, and considerably lightens up this classic!
I also loved your presentation, in a small individual portion… very nice!