Utterly Sinful Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

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Here’s a recipe for sinful, decadent mashed potatoes.

Potatoes are good; garlic is good; Parmesan is good; together, they’re sinfully delicious.

Here’s a twist on the original mashed potatoes. This recipe is “supposed” to serve 8 people. Double, triple, quadruple, or even quintuple the contents ingredients. This is less a recipe than an indulgence to accompany your turkey. Vegetarians might want this with lightly steamed vegetables (broccoli is usually a good bet) for their entire meal. (Well, I would, if you invite me over.)

Most people rely on russet potatoes (the big, over-sized brown ones) for Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. For this recipe, use Yukon gold, which are buttery and good even if you eat them plain with salt. If you can’t get Yukons, try red or any other think-skinned potatoes.

For this recipe, please do not peel the potatoes if you are using a thin-skinned variety. Including potato skins will make your mashed potatoes taste much better. (You’ll get a lot more nutrients, too.)

Ingredients

8 large Yukon gold potatoes
1 head of roasted garlic
Kosher salt
1/4 -1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 – 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Chopped chives (no respectable potato should be without chives)

Note: The amount of the actual ingredients may vary depending on taste. Experiment away! That’s why we cook, right?

Step 1: Roast the garlic.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (250°C)
Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin.
Leave the skins of the individual cloves intact.
Slice off a 1/4-1/2 inch of the top of cloves to exposing the individual garlic cloves
Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well.
Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head: make sure each garlic head is well coated.
Cover aluminum foil
Bake at 400°F (250°C) for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

Now, just let the garlic cool until you can touch the cloves without burning yourself. Use a small small knife and cut the skin slightly around each clove, and then use your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins.

TIP: Why you should roast more than one garlic bulb.

Roasted garlic is so good, you can eat it as is. You can also:

Rub a clove or two to spread warm, sourdough bread (buy it at the store or, if you’re extremely ambitious, make your own
Mix roasted garlic with sour cream
Combine it with yogurt as a low-calorie (post-Thanksgiving, of course) baked potato topping
Add some roasted garlic to pasta with Parmesan, asiago, and Romano cheese with a few veggies for a quick dinner

Step 2

Mash ’em!

Cut the potatoes into equal sizes: leave the skins on
Put the potatoes in a large pot with cold water and boil
Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fairly tender
Drain the potatoes
Put the potatoes in a food processor or blender
Combine the head of roasted garlic and milk
Puree until smooth.

Tip: Mash the potatoes by hand for a more “homemade” taste, and leave potato lumps. You won’t have to clean up the blender or food processor, either.

Now, add the milk, Parmesan cheese, chives, and salt. (If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can substitute cilantro for chives or mix both herbs together.

TIP: If you prefer a different cheese, such as cheddar or Romano, go for it! If you use 1/2 cup of cheese for each recipe, try 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheddar.

Add a few chives (or cilantro) on top and eat.

Tip: If you have any mashed potatoes left on Friday, you can make crispy-smooth potato pancakes. Have you ever tried adding mayonnaise to mashed potatoes? You add it to potato salad, don’t you?