Daylight Saving means one thing - winter is around the corner.

For the cooler times that are coming a great mash is the perfect component to lots of delicious dishes!

I get asked so many times how do you make your restaurant quality mash at home, what is the trick?

It's all about the technique, once you have mastered this, you can use this method for any mash, kumara, parsnip, artichokes etc

First off, the type of potato this very important!

I prefer to use Agria because they are readily available and they have the best flavour.

The Perfect Mash recipe

• 1 kg of peeled Agria potatoes cut into large pieces

1) Wash and place into a medium sized pot and cover with cold water and a teaspoon of salt

2) Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook until tender
Now comes a crucial point , remove the potatoes while still simmering ( if you leave the potatoes in the water they will absorb the water resulting in a sloppy mash )

3) Place potatoes in a colander and cover with a damp tea towel to steam dry

4) In a separate pot heat 200ml of cream with 2 tablespoons of butter and slowly heat until butter is melted

5) Place potatoes back into the dry pot and using a masher ,  ( you could use a cake mixer to insure no lumps ) mash potatoes while slowly adding the hot cream and butter

6) Season with salt and white pepper

A healthy alternative to replace the cream and butter would be to slowly heat 200 ml of pure olive oil with some garlic gloves removing the cloves before adding to the potato

Enjoy!

M