In today’s holiday side dish recipe edition, we are going to make – Garlic Mashed Potatoes
These garlic mashed potatoes are creamy and delicious and of course FULL of garlic goodness. This recipe is a delectable side dish for all of your holiday dinners or any night of the week really. I get a craving for them sometimes, so I say, “Why not?”. I made them a few days ago with brussel sprouts and steak and I was definitely the hero in my house that night.
You can’t go wrong with this classic staple and I dare you to tell me otherwise!
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A History of Mashed Potatoes…and it’s not Irish
Potatoes were first a staple for the Inca Empire, and for the Spaniards who conquered the Incas and stayed in Latin America mining silver.
Sailors who returned to Spain from the Andes brought potatoes back along with the silver, and historians have hypothesized that these potatoes were taken ashore and planted before the end of the 16th century.
Potatoes are a New World crop, first domesticated in what is now southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia.
Potatoes initially failed to take off in Europe. In France, were considered so unappetizing that the French government passed a law banning them as a food source for humans in 1748. Instead, potatoes were reserved for animal feed, while others believed that they actually caused leprosy.
Ironically,
it was a Frenchman who was one of the first to discover a dish that would become increasingly popular over the course of three centuries, mashed potatoes.
Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French military pharmacist who served in the Seven Years’ War between Britain and France, was captured by Prussian soldiers and forced to live on a diet of potatoes while imprisoned. This is where he learned that they did not cause leprosy and actually experimented with different variations. When he was released, he started a petition with the French government to lift the “no human consumption” potato ban.
The French government was eventually forced to lift its ban on potatoes in 1772.
Eventually, farmers in Europe found potatoes easier to grow and cultivate than other staple crops, such as wheat and oats.
It also became well-known that potatoes contained most of the vitamins needed for sustenance, and they could provide for nearly ten people for each acre of land cultivated. The arrival of the potato in Northern Europe basically ended famine.
Even though the history of the potato is well documented, the origin of mashed potatoes is a little cloudier. Some food historians say the Incas mashed their potatoes, but not like we do today.
The inventor of mashed potatoes as we know and love them today was Hannah Glasse. Glasse was the Julia Child of her time and was very popular in the British colonies.
Traditional Christmas Side Dishes
Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham, are also used. Pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are staples for dessert.
Substitutions
You can also make a cauliflower mash with the same ingredients for a low-carb option. I also love to make mashed sweet potatoes with the same ingredients.
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Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- potato masher
- large stockpot
Ingredients
- 10 small-medium white potatoes, peeled
- ½ cup butter/margarine
- ½ - ¾ cup milk depending on how creamy you like them
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup chives or green onions, to garnish
Instructions
- peel potatoes and boil in salted water for about 30 mins, until fork tender
- mash potatoes with a potato masher
- add milk, butter, garlic, salt, and pepper
- keep mashing/mixing until desired consistency, I like mine with no lumps
- garnish with chives or green onions to serve.
Video
@bold.carly Garlic mashed potatoes are so easy to make and soooo delicious! Perfect for any holiday gathering. #mashedpotatoes #potatorecipe
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