How to make mashed potatoes delicious. With cream cheese

Mashed potatoes are one of the most popular dishes Slavic national cuisine. Lush, tender, aromatic, it literally melts in your mouth - of course, if you know how to cook it correctly! Cutlets and sausages, chops and gravy, sausage, ham, tongue and other meat delicacies turn out to be much tastier if they are served with mashed potatoes as a side dish. In this article we will discuss different recipes this dish.

Steamed potatoes - pros and cons

Nutritionists believe that the most The right way How to boil potatoes in general and how to make mashed potatoes in particular is steaming. Why, you ask. But the fact is that if you pour water over vegetables and keep them in boiling water, most of the vitamins and other useful substances turn into liquid. If it’s soup or borscht, it’s okay, we’ll eat it anyway. But when the decoction is not used, it’s a pity, because a lot of valuable and necessary things for our body are lost.

Steaming is the best option for making mashed potatoes: the root vegetables will soften, and everything valuable will remain in them. What you will need: If you have a steamer, great. No - it’s not a problem either, it’s very easy to build. Especially if there is an insert mesh. It can be successfully replaced with a stainless steel sieve or colander. The only disadvantage of how to steam mashed potatoes is the time spent on the process. It will take a little more than with regular cooking.

Cooking technology

Wash the potatoes, peel them, and rinse them again in running water. Cut into 4 pieces. If it is small, you can use the whole thing. Sprinkle fine salt, shake several times to distribute it evenly throughout the potatoes. Enough large saucepan Pour water so that it does not reach the container with the vegetable. Place a colander or other device in which to place the cooked product, and cover tightly with a lid. Let the water boil over high heat, then reduce it and simmer over low heat. This will take about 40 minutes.

When the potatoes become soft, remove them, place them in a dry saucepan and thoroughly crush them with a pestle or chop them with a mixer or blender. Add salt if necessary. Season with butter and eat with pleasure! Now you know how to steam mash potatoes.

Ordinary puree

If time is running out or you simply don’t want to spend a long time in the kitchen, do it easier. Peel about a kilogram of potatoes, cut into medium-sized pieces and pour hot water(so that it only covers the vegetables). Also peel and cut 1 small onion into half rings and place in the pan. Pour a teaspoon of salt and put everything on gas, over high heat. When it boils, reduce it and cook for 20-25 minutes over medium heat.

Next, do this: pour most of the broth into a clean container - you will need it later. Leave a little liquid in the pan to make it easier to mash the potatoes. Potato puree with onions (don’t throw it away, chop it with the main vegetable), seasoned with butter, turns out to be nourishing, tasty, especially aromatic. Tip: to make the consistency of the dish more tender, add the strained broth while chopping. Of course, do not overdo it so that the puree does not turn out to be liquid. And thanks to the moderately added broth, your dish will turn out exactly the way gourmets like it.

Potatoes for dumplings

How to cook mashed potatoes so that they can also be used as a filling for dumplings? The recipe is this: peel the root vegetables, cut them into quarters, pour salted boiling water over them and cook until tender. Just before turning off, place a few bay leaves in the pan. While the potatoes are cooking, fry them. To do this, heat 4 tablespoons in a frying pan. vegetable oil, cut one and a half onions into cubes and fry until golden brown. Finely chop the dill sprigs.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and put the pan back on the gas, over low heat, so that the moisture completely evaporates. Then thoroughly rub the potatoes through a sieve or mash with a wooden masher. Pour in the onion fry, add dill, black ground pepper and coriander to taste. Add salt if necessary and mix everything well. These mashed potatoes, the recipe for which we have given here, smell amazing, are very tasty, you can eat them on their own, and make excellent dumplings from them!

Puree with milk

A dietary dish that is perfect for small children can be prepared by boiling potatoes with milk. To do this, pour boiling water over the prepared vegetables and boil for 10-15 minutes. Then drain the water and add one and a half cups of boiling milk to the pan. Add salt and cook until done. Next, mash the potatoes, trying to avoid any lumps, and season with butter. You can sprinkle with chopped herbs. And serve! Offer a couple of pieces of boiled sausage to the dish - and the feast will be a success! Along the way, let’s add that potatoes can be completely boiled in water and only diluted with milk, but always hot: cold it will turn your mashed potatoes into an unappetizing grayish mass.

Puree with sour cream

With sour cream or cream you get excellent mashed potatoes from new potatoes. You already know the primary cooking technology: wash, peel, cut, put on fire. Salt the water just a little bit! If you are concerned about the question of how long to cook mashed potatoes, then we will answer this: there is no need to process them for too long, almost to the point of porridge. Just try to prick a piece with a fork. It’s easy to make - that’s it, remove from heat.

But let's continue to perform sacred acts! You need to boil the root vegetables, crush them, beat them, season them a small amount oils While the potatoes are cooking, take a small piece hard cheese or feta cheese (100 grams is enough), grate on a fine grater. Pass a couple of cloves of garlic through a press (about 3-4 pieces per 1 kg of potatoes), mix with cheese. Place the mixture in sour cream (one and a half glasses or 250-300 g), pepper, and stir. Pour into the prepared puree, beat well and place the pan in the pan for 15 minutes. hot oven. Serve sprinkled with herbs. And don't forget about the salad fresh vegetables- it makes a great combination!

Another oven-baked puree recipe

This version of the dish is somewhat similar to the previous one, but differs from it in the composition of ingredients and, naturally, taste nuances. When the potatoes boiled in water become soft, mash and beat them until fluffy. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter (tablespoons), grate a piece swiss cheese to make approximately a 200 gram glass. Heat a glass of milk and beat 4 egg whites. Add butter, cheese, salt and pepper to taste into the milk, stir and pour into the puree in a thin stream, also stirring. Place the whites in the cream and beat with a whisk or blender. Transfer the food into a mold and place in a warm oven for half an hour. Serve hot with grilled meat.

Potatoes with cracklings and other types of dishes

200 g lard Cut the bacon or bacon into medium-sized cubes. Don’t make them too small, otherwise they will get fried and won’t be tasty. Fry them in a frying pan until golden brown. Then add the chopped onion and continue frying until done. After mashing the potatoes, pour in the melted cracklings, stir and enjoy, serving pickled vegetables or adjika with the dish!

How can you prepare the puree again by developing culinary fantasy? Toss mashed potatoes meat broth, For example. Or melt butter, grind a handful of dill seeds, some fresh herbs and garlic, mix and season with this mixture of puree. You can add a handful of crushed nuts to the milk-potato mixture.

Only very novice cooks cannot cook mashed potatoes. But do you know all the nuances and all the cooking options? Very often in recipes on the Internet they write that the fluffiness and airiness of mashed potatoes depends on the type of potato. Or rather, from the starch content in it. This is absolutely true. But in Everyday life when buying potatoes at the market or in a store, how often do you have the opportunity to choose desired variety? And where is the guarantee that he will turn out to be so? Today I will not only offer you several options for mashed potatoes to choose from, but I will also tell you some secrets that will make any potato make very tasty, fluffy mashed potatoes.

But still a little about the varieties. There is a question online about why the puree turns out viscous and stringy. I used to think that you could get something like this if you pounded it not with a traditional masher, but with an immersion blender. Until I encountered this problem myself, having bought Egyptian potatoes in a store. Indeed, it turned out to be some kind of viscous mass, a very unusual consistency, similar to glue. Since then I have avoided buying this variety (or country of origin).

How to make mashed potatoes with milk

Let's start with the classic and most popular option with milk. We will cook it traditionally, in a saucepan, and we will use one trick that will make the dish fluffy and beautiful.

Ingredients for 2-3 servings:

potatoes - 2 large tubers;
butter – 60-70g;
milk – 0.5 cups (125 ml);
salt - to taste.

How to cook delicious

By the way, it’s best to warm it up in the same way. You can add a little warm milk and heat over low heat, stirring constantly. Even the thickest puree will become fluffy and light when heated this way.

How to cook puree in a slow cooker

For those who are interested in the method of preparing mashed potatoes using a slow cooker, I suggest you familiarize yourself with how this is done. But you need to understand that in a bowl we will only boil the vegetable until tender, and then use our hands as usual. In this option, an egg will be added to the mixture.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

potatoes – 1kg;
milk – 1 glass (250ml);
egg – 1 piece;
butter – 50g;
salt - to taste.

Cooking process

Egg is not a required ingredient. Then why is it needed? It is added only to improve the color of the dish, with it the mass has a pleasant yellow color, and, perhaps, for satiety. In my opinion, it does not impart tenderness and softness.

Mashed potatoes with water

As a rule, this recipe is needed by those who fast and during fasting do not consume any products of animal origin, not only meat, but even milk. For them - a recipe on water.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

potatoes - 4-5 tubers;
salt.

How to do it

That's all the difference.

Creamy mashed potatoes

But cream makes its taste richer and its consistency creamy and light. In addition, during cooking we will add onions to the pan. This may scare some people. Don't be afraid, the finished dish will not smell like onions. If they hadn’t told you about onions, you wouldn’t have understood anything, and you would have absolutely considered puree to be the most delicious.

Ingredients for 6-8 servings:

potatoes – 1.5 kg;
cream 10% - approximately 3/4 cup (200ml);
butter – 60g;
egg – 1 piece;
onion – 1 head;
salt.

How to do

Delicious puree with cream is ready!

For those who prepare a side dish quite often and who have a desire to diversify it in some way, I would like to suggest additional ingredients for taste and aroma.

Puree with potatoes and parsnips

Parsnips are a plant whose root looks like a large white carrot. It is also called “white root”. The vegetable is very healthy and low-calorie. It gives the puree a special aroma and a slightly sweet taste.

potatoes – 0.5 kg;
parsnip – 250g;
cream 10% - 50ml;
butter – 40g;
nutmeg– a pinch;
salt;
ground black pepper.

How to cook

If you want to increase the amount of parsnips, you will need to increase the amount of butter to keep the puree tender or add additional sour cream.

Is it possible to blend puree with a blender?

You can whip it, but the consistency of the dish, pureed using a blender or food processor, becomes viscous, which is not for everyone.

What to do, if mashed potatoes did you oversalt?

If it is only slightly oversalted, you can correct the situation by adding: 1) a little more milk and butter; 2) a raw egg(hot). If the salting is too much, then you will have to boil the potatoes again, but already in fresh water, crush and mix with salty.

How to thicken puree?

If you accidentally overfilled milk, water or cream and ended up with a dish that is too thin, and you don’t want to additionally cook the potatoes to add to it, put it in a deep frying pan with a thick bottom, put it on a very low heat and, stirring constantly, thicken him this way. Remember that as it cools (especially in the refrigerator), it will thicken naturally.

How long does puree last in the refrigerator?

No more than 3 days. If the shelf life has exceeded three days, but is still within reason, you can prepare some dish that requires additional heat treatment– casserole, flatbreads, pies, pancakes, etc.

What to serve mashed potatoes with?

In fact, in most cases it is a side dish, not the main dish. If you prepare it as the main thing, then you can serve it with any sauce to your taste: with cheese, sour cream, mushrooms. It’s good to serve salted or pickled cucumbers with mashed potatoes. In general, there is enough room for imagination here. The main thing is delicious, beautiful mashed potatoes.

It would seem that what could be easier than making mashed potatoes? Anyone can boil and mash potatoes. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t always turn out really tasty. Gray, viscous, too dry or, on the contrary, too liquid - such a puree can hardly be called ideal. I offer an extremely simple option: classic (according to the canons developed back in the Soviet years) mashed potatoes, recipe with milk and butter. All. No more fancy ingredients. We will also mash the potatoes the old fashioned way - with an ordinary wooden masher or a metal potato masher. Here it is better to do without using modern kitchen appliances. Even without them, you will get the most delicious, tender and airy puree you have ever tried!

Ingredients:

potatoes – 1 kg,
milk (fattier is better, I have 3.2%) - 150 ml,
butter – 50 g,
salt – 3/4 tbsp. l. (or to taste).

How to make mashed potatoes with milk

Wash the potatoes, cut off the skins. If necessary, cut large tubers into pieces so that all potatoes are approximately the same size. The finer the potatoes are cut, the faster they will cook.

Next, pour water into the saucepan where the potatoes will be cooked and let it boil. To save time, you can boil water in an electric kettle. Place the potatoes in the bubbling water and add some salt. The water should completely cover the potatoes.

Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook the potatoes until tender over medium heat on the stove. Usually the potatoes are ready in about 15 minutes. We pierce the tubers with a knife (or fork) and if it goes in softly, the potatoes are ready.

Drain all the liquid from the finished potatoes and immediately mash them with a potato masher (I use a wooden one). Without liquid, mashing potatoes without lumps is much easier.

Almost ready, all that remains is to add butter and milk to the mashed potatoes. An important point: so that the puree does not turn out disgustingly stringy and viscous, and does not change the color to an unappetizing gray, both ingredients must be hot. First add butter to the puree, after melting it in the microwave.

Stir the butter into the puree with quick circular movements and gradually begin to pour in the milk, also preheated in the micro. Pour in milk in two to four batches. Pour in a portion - mash the milk with a masher until the milk is completely absorbed, pour in again - mash again, and so on until you get the puree of the consistency you need.

I pour in all the milk and, to my taste, the result is perfectly tender, fluffy mashed potatoes. It is better to serve it immediately. An excellent side dish for any fish or meat dishes, very tasty with a salad or just with greens.

Both adults and children love mashed potatoes. It may be a separate dish or served as a side dish for meat, fish, mushrooms.

It can be prepared from potatoes alone or with the addition of other vegetables - carrots, onions, spinach, beets. And this makes the puree multi-colored: pink, orange, green, yellow.

But before you start experimenting with various additives, you need to learn how to properly make regular mashed potatoes.

Experienced housewives can prepare it without difficulty. But housewives starting to master culinary skills sometimes encounter unexpected problems. For example, the puree turns out with lumps or an unpleasant grayish color. Why is this happening?

Mashed potatoes: subtleties of preparation

For mashed potatoes, take already mature potatoes, because young potatoes take a long time to cook and do not have the friability that well-ripened tubers are endowed with.
For mashed potatoes, use table potatoes with a starch content of 12-18%. Such potatoes boil well, but do not crumble. It can be identified by its thin skin, shallow-set eyes and light flesh, which does not darken for a long time when cut.
But you need to remember that boiled potatoes become saturated with water during cooking, becoming watery and tasteless. When cooking such potatoes, after 15 minutes, drain most of the liquid, reduce the heat to low and almost steam the tubers, tightly closing the pan with a lid.
While for many dishes potatoes can be boiled in their jackets, for mashed potatoes the potatoes must be peeled.
The tubers for puree must be the same, then they will be cooked at the same time. Large potatoes leave for frying or as a last resort, cut into 2-3 parts.
Sometimes potatoes turn dark when cooked. To prevent this from happening, add one tablespoon of vinegar to the water per liter of liquid.
If you put a clove of garlic or a bay leaf in the water in which you boil the potatoes, then boiled potatoes it will turn out much tastier.
Boil the potatoes until fully cooked. Poorly cooked potatoes will result in lumpy mashed potatoes because you won't be able to mash them properly.
Puree the potatoes while they are hot. Mashed potatoes from cooled potatoes will be viscous and tasteless.
Use potato broth to dilute mashed potatoes, prepare soups and sauces, as it contains a lot useful microelements. But if there is a suspicion that the potatoes were grown in an area unfavorable from an environmental point of view, the broth should be poured out, because not only useful material, but also harmful.
Mash the potatoes for mashed potatoes manually - with a masher or pestle. When using a blender, the puree turns out viscous and viscous.
Dilute the puree only with hot milk. By adding cold milk to hot mashed potatoes, you risk getting potatoes with a bluish tint (this reaction occurs due to starch).

Mashed potatoes with milk

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
milk – 230 ml;
butter – 60 g;
salt – 10 g per 1 liter of water.

Cooking method

Peel the potatoes, rinse under running water cold water. It is believed that after this procedure it will become crumbly, which is very important for poorly cooked varieties.
Place the tubers in boiling water until it covers the vegetables by only one centimeter. As soon as the water boils again, salt it. Thanks to this, the loss of minerals contained in potatoes will be minimal. Cook the potatoes at a moderate boil, covering the container with a lid.
When the tubers become soft, drain the broth and leave the pan with the potatoes on the hot stove so that excess liquid evaporates.
Immediately, without allowing the potatoes to cool, mash them with a wooden masher or pestle.
Add salt and oil. While continuing to stir, pour in the hot milk in a thin stream.
Beat the puree until it becomes fluffy and even small lumps disappear.

Pink mashed potatoes (with carrots)

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
small carrots - 1 pc.;
milk – 230 ml;
salt;
butter – 60 g.

Cooking method

Peel the potatoes and carrots and wash. Place the potatoes in boiling water, add salt, and cook until tender.
Cut the carrots into circles, place them in a small cauldron or saucepan, put a piece of butter, pour in a little water (just to cover the bottom). Simmer until soft. Don't add salt!
Drain the broth from the potatoes. Combine both types of vegetables and puree. Continuing to grind, add butter and pour in hot milk. Beat the puree until fluffy.

Mashed Potatoes with Egg

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
eggs – 4 pcs.;
butter – 25 g;
salt.

Cooking method

Boil peeled and washed potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain the broth and dry the potatoes to remove excess moisture. Rub through a sieve or crush with a masher.
Add raw egg yolks. Place over very low heat and use a whisk to mix the puree well. Keep on the stove until it thickens and takes on the appearance of dough.

This puree is great for making unique cookies. To do this, place it on a table sprinkled with flour, roll it into a thick layer, and cut into rectangles. Brush with egg and bake in the oven until golden brown.

Mashed potatoes with onions

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
onions – 3 pcs.;
butter – 50 g;
eggs – 5 pcs.;
potato broth for recipe No. 1 – 120 ml;
milk – 120 ml for recipe No. 2;
salt;
black pepper;
nutmeg - optional.

Cooking method No. 1

Finely chop the onion. Fry lightly in oil until yellowish.
Boil the potatoes until soft, drain the broth, and dry the tubers. Grind into puree.
Add sautéed onions. While stirring, pour in the potato broth. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Mix thoroughly.
Add egg yolks and mix.

Cooking method No. 2

Peel the potatoes and onions, wash them, boil until soft in salted water.
Crush with a masher or pass through a meat grinder.
Put the butter, pour in the hot milk. Place on very low heat and whisk until fluffy.
Add egg yolks, stir until smooth.

Mashed Potatoes with Spinach

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
spinach – 200 g;
milk – 100 ml;
salt;
butter – 50 g.

Cooking method

Boil the potatoes until soft, drain the water, and mash the potatoes with a potato masher.
Wash the spinach, dry it, and pass through a meat grinder.
Put butter in the puree, pour in hot milk, add chopped spinach. Place the saucepan with the puree on low heat and heat well. Remove from heat, beat thoroughly with a spoon until fluffy.

Mashed Potatoes with Pumpkin

Ingredients:

potatoes – 800 g;
pumpkin – 500 g;
milk – 150 ml;
butter – 50 g;
salt;
black pepper;
nutmeg - to taste;
pumpkin seeds.

Cooking method

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain the broth.
Cut the pumpkin into cubes, place in a saucepan, add 25 g of oil and 50 ml of water. Stirring, simmer until the pumpkin is soft, about 25 minutes.
Transfer the pumpkin to the pan with the potatoes. Using a masher, mash the vegetables into a puree. Add butter, hot milk and spices. Beat the puree thoroughly until fluffy.

Note to the hostess

Serve the puree hot only.

To make the puree smooth and fluffy, you can rub it through a sieve and then beat it.

Do not leave the puree for the next day, as its taste and color will deteriorate significantly.

During fasting, milk can be replaced with potato broth, and butter with sunflower oil.

Do you like meat? Take the minced meat, fry it until cooked in a frying pan, add to the mashed potatoes and mix well.

Mushrooms can also be added to puree. Before doing this, wash them thoroughly, chop them finely, fry them in a pan or boil them. Then combine with potatoes and mix well.

Do you like potato dishes, but they don’t always turn out tasty? Let's figure out how to prepare mashed potatoes correctly and what ingredients you will need for this.

How to make classic mashed potatoes

This is the simplest and quick recipe without unnecessary additives. The dish prepared using it goes perfectly with meat and gravy.

Required Products:

0.2 liters of milk;
about 50 grams of butter;
kilogram of potatoes.

Cooking process:

The potatoes must be peeled and if the tubers are too large, cut them into halves. You should not chop the root vegetables too much, otherwise the dish will not be as tasty.
Place the slices in a saucepan, cover with water and immediately add a little salt. Keep on the fire for about 20 minutes after the boiling process has begun - the potatoes should become soft. You can check this by simply piercing it with a fork.
After this, remove excess water and mash the contents of the pan with a masher. Then pour in the pre-melted butter along with the milk. This mixture must be hot. Mix everything thoroughly (you can even beat it a little with a mixer), season with spices to your taste.

Mashed potatoes in a slow cooker

Required Products:

a glass of milk;
a quarter stick of butter;
spices to your taste;
one and a half kilograms of potatoes.

Cooking process:

We peel all the tubers, wash them thoroughly, turn them into medium-sized cubes and place them in a bowl.
Now fill its contents with water so that the liquid covers the potatoes by about a centimeter. Immediately add some salt and add a little more to taste. bay leaf and garlic.
Turn on the device in “Soup” mode and set the operating time to 20 minutes.
After cooking, drain the remaining water and mash the potatoes in any convenient way. This needs to be done in another container - the multicooker bowl is not intended for such manipulations.
We heat the milk, but do not bring it to a boil, heat the butter and pour all these ingredients into the potatoes. Mix well until smooth.