Crème Fraîche Mashed Potatoes

This recipe grew out of necessity.

Or, rather, my failure to properly inventory the fridge before Thanksgiving day.

As I went to prepare my ultimate creamy mashed potatoes, I discovered I was out of heavy cream (oh, the horror!) After two pies and a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream and one carton tossed for being well past its prime, I didn’t have a single drop of usable heavy cream left at my disposal.

Luckily, what I did have was a tub of crème fraîche.

Which, as it turns out, makes for a damn fine mashed potato (if I do say so myself).

The cultured French cream (similar to sour cream but with a richer and more nuanced flavor) gives the potatoes a slight yogurty tang that really does wonders to cut the richness. Bonus? Crème fraîche is actually lower in fat than heavy whipping cream, while producing a far creamier final product.

Proof that sometimes mistakes can turn into blessings in disguise.

Tip for ultra-creamy mashed potatoes: use a food mill. Bonus: you don’t even have to peel the potatoes (because we all hate peeling potatoes). Just cut into chunks, boil until tender, and run through the food mill. The mill will essentially do the same job as a potato ricer, while removing the skins at same time.

Once the potatoes are milled, return them to the cooking pot on the still warm burner and add the butter. The residual heat from the pan will steam off any leftover moisture. Adding the butter first (before cream or in this case, crème fraîche, will prevent your potatoes from getting gluey).

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from Love and Olive Oil http://ift.tt/2zjFeCO