Simple Cooking: Easy Mashed Potatoes and Parsley Butter

By Caitlin Klein in Food on Dec 7, 2011 7:40PM

As the late fall chill sets in, we’ll be making more comforting and filling foods. We don’t know about you, but the fact that it’s getting dark at 4:30 just makes us want to go home, curl up under a blanket, and eat something warm. Mashed potatoes are practically comfort food royalty, so it’s worth getting it right. Try our simple sour cream mashed potatoes recipe for something warm and satisfying. The parsley butter can be used on these potatoes, but can also be saved in the fridge for use on hot, crusty bread or steamed vegetables.

For the potatoes:
2.5 pounds white potatoes (5 pound bags are available at Stanley’s for $2.00)
6 Tablespoons butter
~1 cup milk
¾ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

Peel and rinse the potatoes. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with water. Set over a burner and bring to a boil; continue to boil potatoes for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are completely soft.

Turn off the heat, drain potatoes, and return them immediately to the pot. Add butter, milk, sour cream, and garlic salt, and use a handheld mixer to mash everything together. This can also be done by hand, but it’s a pretty good arm workout.

Mash until all the potato lumps are gone. Add a few Tablespoons of milk if necessary. At this point, the potatoes should be slightly more runny than the finished product.

Place potatoes in a large, oven-safe dish. Put in the oven for ~30 minutes - the top will turn golden and the potatoes will thicken.

For the butter:
1 stick butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons parsley
Finely chop the parsley.

Using a standing or hand mixer, mix together the parsley and butter. Put in a small serving bowl. This butter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week.