Vegetable

Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

November 15, 2020 by Melissa

These red skin mashed potatoes are exactly what you want – creamy, but just the right amount of texture and flavor from the skins. They are a great option for any night of the week or your holiday meals at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Where I grew up, it was a “meat and potatoes” kind of place. Potatoes were usually in the form of mashed potatoes, so mashed potatoes are definitely a nostalgic comfort food for me. I typically like them silky smooth, but I like keeping the skins on when I use red skin potatoes. It gives a little extra texture and flavor to the potatoes.

Over the years, I’ve tried to flavor my mashed potatoes with lots of different things, herbs, garlic, cheese, sour cream, you name it. Adding all of those things are great, but sometimes they can be a little too much. Don’t get me wrong, I love garlic-y mashed potatoes, but have you ever had mashed potatoes where they went a little overboard? Not pleasant. Instead, I like to infuse my mashed potatoes with herbs and garlic. Sounds fancy, but it’s so easy and doesn’t take up any additional time because the infusion happens while the potatoes are boiled. Read on for more and how to make these infused mashed potatoes.

Whole red skin potatoes ready to be made into red skin mashed potatoes on a white surface with a blue and white tea towel

How to Make Red Skin Mashed Potatoes (with Infused Herbs and Garlic)

I’m not particularly eager to fuss with chopping up the potatoes before boiling, so I put in the potatoes in the water whole. Chopping them will cut down on boiling time, but you’re also spending more time chopping potatoes – so I’m not sure which is really faster. Anyway, while your potatoes are boiling, you’ll melt butter and milk on low heat and add a couple of smashed garlic cloves and herbs to the pot. You’ll let that mixture heat on low while the potatoes cook. When your potatoes are drained and ready to mash, you’ll simply strain the milk and butter mixture from the garlic and herbs. All the flavor is locked into milk and butter without being too overpowering. You’ll add some salt and pepper and then mash those potatoes!

Close up of red skin mashed potatoes with a pat of melting butter and sprig of rosemary on top.

Ingredients

Red skin potatoes: You can use other types of potatoes, but if you’re not going to peel them, I would only recommend potatoes with thin skins like red skin potatoes.

Butter: Butter is always best with mashed potatoes. If you’re vegan or plant-based, you could use a vegan butter spread instead.

Milk: Use whole or 2% for the best flavor. If you want to use plant-based milk, I would use one with a little bit of fat like coconut but make sure it’s plain or unflavored and not vanilla. I’m sure vanilla flavored mashed potatoes wouldn’t taste great.

Garlic: You will be straining the garlic out, so just smash a couple of cloves, so they’re broken up a bit and throw them in large pieces or chunks, so they strain easily (plus that’s less chopping!)

Herbs: My go-to herbs are fresh rosemary and sage. Don’t bother mincing them. I wouldn’t recommend dried herbs, but you could use fresh thyme as well.

Salt and pepper: I usually salt the water that the potatoes boil in, and then I season with salt and pepper when I go to mash the potatoes.

Overview of red skin mashed potatoes with a pat of melting butter, sprig of rosemary, and a serving spoon on top on a white surface with a gray towel.

Make-Ahead Tips for Mashed Potatoes

If you want to make these mashed potatoes in advance of a big dinner or holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, you can make this recipe a day or two ahead, refrigerate, and reheat just before serving. To ensure that you don’t dry them out, you’ll put a non-plastic bowl (I use a stainless steel bowl) of the potatoes over a pot of simmering water (double boiler style) and stir them occasionally until they’re reheated. If they begin to look a little dry, add in more milk as needed until they’re silky smooth again.

Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

Author: Melissa
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Category: side dish, vegetable

Scale

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs. red skin potatoes, washed and scrubbed
½ stick of butter (4 tbsp.)
½ cup of milk
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 spring of fresh rosemary
5–10 leaves of fresh sage
Salt and pepper, to taste
Additional butter and herbs for garnish and topping (optional)

Instructions

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by at least 1″. Add salt to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender about 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat butter, milk, garlic, and herbs in a small pot over low-medium heat. Once butter melted, turn the heat down to the lowest setting, and allow the mixture to sit while potatoes cook.
Drain and mash potatoes while still hot. Strain the garlic and herbs out of the hot milk mixture. Add mixture to the potatoes, whipping with an electric mixer, or using hand masher until potatoes smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately, or make ahead (see notes)

Notes

Reheating instructions:

To make ahead, then reheat, place potatoes in a heat-proof bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to reheat, place the bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stovetop, stirring occasionally. If potatoes look dry, add more milk (about 1/2 cup or more) as needed until silky and warm.

Keywords: side dish, vegetable, mashed potatoes, dinner, Thanksgiving, Christmas

Smashed Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Glaze, Pepitas, and Cranberries

November 2, 2020 by Melissa

These Smashed Brussels Sprouts are roasted until crispy, drizzled with balsamic glaze, and topped with pepitas and dried cranberries. It’s the perfect side for any fall-inspired meal or holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

If you had asked me to try brussels sprouts when I was a kid, I would have fought you tooth and nail never to allow those cute little sprouts to cross my lips. Now, as an adult, I think brussels sprouts are underrated! Especially when they’re roasted to crispy perfection.

I’ve talked a lot about how roasting vegetables does something magical to them. It’s not really magic; it’s merely that the carbohydrate found in vegetables (yes, all plant-based foods contain some degree of carbohydrates, and it’s not to be feared) goes through a process called caramelization. We tend to think only of pure sugar (carbohydrate) going through this process to make caramel candies, but this actually can happen to all carbohydrates. Since there is a small amount of carbohydrate in the brussels sprouts, roasting them makes them slightly sweeter and caramelized. That’s why roasted vegetables taste so good. I wish I had more vegetables prepared this way when I was younger. I may have actually appreciated vegetables a little bit more.

Close up of smashed brussels sprouts in a bowl with pepitas, cranberries and balsamic glaze with serving spoons.

Anyway, back to these brussels sprouts – I went a step further on the flavor profile and topped them off with a little bit of balsamic glaze, crunchy, salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and tart, dried cranberries. The combination of crunchy, sweet, tart and salty is simply heaven.

Why would you smash your brussels sprouts?

It’s because there is more surface area to caramelize. This can apply to roasting any other vegetable as well. When you flatten the vegetable, you’re more likely to caramelize a larger amount of the vegetable. Obviously, brussels sprouts are round and hard, so they have to be parboiled first, then blanched in cold water to stop the cooking process before you can smash them into round disks using a large, heavy-bottomed cup or glass. It’s challenging to get sprouts that are all the same size, so don’t be alarmed if you can’t get some of them as flattened as others.

Ingredients for Smashed Brussels Sprouts

Fresh brussels sprouts: When you buy fresh brussels sprouts, you can buy them on the stalk or already chopped from the stalk. Most of the time, you will find the latter. Make sure they are firm and don’t give much when you press on them. After washing, make sure to trim the ends. Also, remove any blemished outer leaves, if necessary.

Olive oil: Since we are roasting these brussels sprouts on high heat in the oven, I recommend using the “light tasting” olive oil, which is much lighter and more gold in color than the extra virgin. The lighter colored olive oil has a higher smoke point, so it won’t burn at high heat as extra virgin would.

Parmesan cheese This will give the brussels sprouts a salty and savory flavor. I used some on top before roasted and topped the sprouts with more after roasting. More cheese = more happiness, right?!

Balsamic glaze: You can find this in most grocery stores now. It’s just a more concentrated, thicker, and sweeter version of regular balsamic vinegar. If you’ve never used it before, you’re missing out.

Roasted pepitas: Again, most grocery stores carry these now. Pepitas are pumpkin seeds. They used to be harder to find. I chose the salted to help balance the sweetness from the balsamic glaze, but you can get unsalted if you prefer. If pepitas aren’t readily available, you can use any type of nut for some added crunch.

Dried cranberries: The tartness from the dried cranberries is really great. You can also sub in dried cherries – they would have the same effect. Dried cranberries seemed very seasonal for this fall-inspired dish.

Close up of smashed brussels sprouts with balsamic glaze, pepitas, and cranberries on a white plate.

How to Make Smashed Brussels Sprouts

Like I mentioned above, you start by parboiling the sprouts and then blanching them in an ice bath, which stops the cooking process. You don’t want to boil them for so long that they are completely cooked; you want them a little raw still.

After you blanch them, make sure that they are very dry by patting them with a kitchen towel. The more water left on the sprouts, the less caramelization you’ll get. The water will end up steaming them rather than the dry heat caramelizing the sprouts.

You’ll then use a heavy-bottomed cup or glass to press the sprouts on the baking sheet gently. Be careful; they can be slippery if you aren’t able to get them super dry. The smaller ones are very easy, but a couple of the bigger ones might require you to make a little slit in them with a knife in order to press them down. They don’t have to be completely flat.

After they are pressed, you’ll toss on the sprouts in the olive oil, parmesan cheese, and season with salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven for roasting. After they’ll fully roasted, serve them with the drizzle of balsamic glaze, pepitas, and dried cranberries. And of course, you can always add a little extra parm on top!

How to Serve

This makes a great side dish for the fall and winter months, as that is when brussels sprouts are in season. You can serve them with anything, but they would make a great Thanksgiving side dish or as part of your Christmas dinner. You can serve them right off the sheet pan, but I put them in a serving bowl so that I can fully coat the sprouts in the glaze for more flavor.

Smashed brussels sprouts in a bowl with pepitas, cranberries and balsamic glaze with serving spoons.