Parmesan-Crusted Mashed Potatoes

There’s a ton of mashed potato recipes out there, but few deliver that fluffy, cloud-like texture with a rich, creamy body and a crispy top. So, when I started working on this recipe, I had the following criteria: I wanted the inside to taste like pommes purée (aka French mashed potatoes); I wanted a make-ahead option so we’re not scrambling on party day; and, finally, I wanted a bit of crunch because that always seems to be missing from the holiday table. My Italian blood also happened to be drawing me to the fridge and calling on me to add parmesan, so naturally I couldn’t refuse — sue me! I achieved all that (I think!) and the result is definitely worthy of your holiday table.

Parmesan-Crusted Mashed Potatoes

Fluffy and rich mashed potatoes with a little crunch on top.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1200 g peeled yellow potatoes
• 120 g cold unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 medium shallot
• 3 garlic cloves
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp black pepper corns
• 1 parmesan rind
• 1 cup parmesan
• salt
• cracked black pepper
• olive oil

Method

 

1. Cut 1200g peeled potatoes into sixths. Transfer to a large pot and cover with cold water. Heat on medium-high until simmering, reduce to medium-low and continue cooking gently like this until completely tender. You'll want to easily crush the potatoes with a fork but have them still hold their shape in your hand.
2. Meanwhile, peel and half 1 shallot and 3 garlic cloves. Transfer to a small sauce pan along with 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 4 thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp whole black peppercorns and 1 parmesan rind. Heat on low and let the flavours of the aromatics steep into the milk.
3. When the potatoes are cooked, strain and shake out any excess water. Let the potatoes steam for 10 minutes. While you wait, use a bench scraper, or knife, to cut 120g cold, unsalted butter into 1 cm cubes.
4. By now the potatoes should be cool enough to hold without burning. If they're not there yet, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes. Once cooled, run them through a ricer into a dry pot (I'm using the same one I used to boil the potatoes). Mix in a few cubes of butter at a time until fully incorporated. The potatoes will ball up unto a thick mass at first, and then become easier to mix.
5. Once all the butter has been incorporated, slowly mix in your steeped milk, first passing the liquid through a fine mesh sieve. When all the milk has been incorporated, the potatoes should be loose enough that they easily slide out of a spoon when lifted and tipped over. Taste the potatoes, then season with salt and repeat until they're so good you almost can't stop eating them.
6. Turn your broiler to high and transfer potatoes to a 9"x13" ceramic baking dish. Cover with 1 cup parmesan, or as much as your heart desires, and top with a few cracks of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook under the broiler until golden brown and bubbling. Remove and top with flaky salt and a few leaves of fresh thyme.

Notes

These potatoes can be made a day in advance. Do everything until broiling, cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. Let come to room temperature, then warm in a low-temp oven (about 250-300°F) for 15-20 minutes before broiling to make sure they’re warm throughout. 

Making this for a crowd and need to scale up the recipe? Figure out how many potatoes you need to feed your group, then peel and weigh them. 10 percent of the total weight of peeled potatoes will be the amount of cold, unsalted butter needed. You can use the same aromatics in the milk to steep flavour, just heat more milk, and use as needed.