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We're going off piste with this dish, as it doesn't feature in the movie, but we think it's the perfect side dish for our steak main dish, that's an homage to Miranda's fave dish, that's an homage to Anna Wintour's fave dish. Inception.
Mashed potato is a staple in most households, it's easy, delicious, and a crowd pleaser. This version however is not a weekly staple, but rather a once in a blue moon, very indulgent, French style pomme puree. The key to a delicious mash is to use a fluffy potato, like a Maris Piper, get it as dry as possible, and to do as the French do, and add in a whole load of butter (I mean a £$%* tonne).
TOP TIPS
Don't have the potato on a rolling boil, but rather on a simmer so it cooks more gently, and more evenly. This will also prevent the edges of the potato disintegrating, and the potato from getting water logged.
We want to minimise the amount of water that goes into the potato, so instead of boiling them, you could roast the potatoes whole and then remove the flesh, and discard the skin.
If boiling, when cooked, drain in a colander, and leave the potatoes in the colander to steam and dry out. Then once mashed, return to a saucepan on a low heat, stirring constantly, to dry them out further.
Add warmed, melted butter and milk, not cold. The potato will absorb them better, so you wont have to mix as much.
Overworking the potato makes it gluey, gloopy, and gross. The more you work the potato, mixing and mashing, the more gelatinous it will become. So, try to mix it as little as possible.
Mash can take a lot of salt. Potatoes can take a load of salt any way, but we’re also adding a lot of fat, which in itself requires lots of seasoning.
We think that using a ricer is superior to a masher, as it's better at removing lumps, and is less likely to give you a gloopy potato. If you want to go all out with a restaurant style mash, then you should pass the potato through a fine sieve.
Flavour however your heart desires, we love a little lick of dijon mustard. It's not gonna make the mash spicy, he mustard just provides a depth of flavour, and a hint of acidity that cuts through the richness.
Chives are a wonderful garnish for mash, they provide a beautiful contrast of colour and a fresh herbaceous flavour, that lightens a heavy dish.
For a step by step (hopefully) dynamic guide of how to recreate our mash, and all the other dishes featured in our The Devil Wears Prada themed menu, why not check out our video 👠Oh, I'm sorry... Do you have some prior commitment? Some hideous skirt convention you have to go to?
MASHED POTATO
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6)
1 kg fluffy potatoes (eg. Maris Piper)
150 ml whole milk
150 g unsalted butter
2 tsp dijon mustard
1.5 tsp kosher salt
Chives for garnish - chopped
METHOD
Peel the potatoes and dice into 3 cm pieces. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add the potato, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-18 mins until fork tender. nb: Don't allow the water to rapidly boil when cooking the potatoes.
Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain in a colander, and leave them to steam dry in the colander for 5-10 mins.
Mash or rice the potato into a large saucepan. Place on a very low heat for a couple of minutes to dry out the potato, stir continuously. nb: You should see a lot of steam coming off the potato, once this minimises, it’s ready.
Place the milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat until the milk is warmed and the butter is melted. Do not boil.
Remove from the heat, and stir the dijon mustard and salt into the milk mixture.
Pour the warm milk mixture into the potato, and stir to combine. Do not over work it.
Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
Serve sprinkled with chopped chives.
