Everyone has a different spin on mashed potatoes, my most horrifying experience was when a flatmate of mine added an entire tub of Philly cream cheese.  Now growing up I was always a tinned milk guy (evaporated or condensed milk), that’s what my mother used, so that’s what I liked, and over the years this evolved into full-fat milk, and eventually what you see here today.

The new version stems from my new obsession of using Soya Cream in everything that requires cream, I believe it tastes the same as cream when added to a sauce, and has the same consistency.  The other is my ‘fear’ of heart disease that runs in the family, the Doc told me to cut back on the salts and fats due to my abnormally high blood pressure.  Now giving up certain things, and substitutions for everything is not going to do the trick, so moderation is key here.  Mashed Potatoes in many forms is not the greatest thing as a regular added side dish. so my new version is ‘almost’ as great as the full fat original.  all you need is the following…

• potatoes, peeled and chopped
• soya cream
• white pepper, ground
• butter*

* if using unsalted butter, add a sprinkle of low salt on top to taste

Peel and cut the potatoes into even pieces (you want them to all cook at the same rate, so leaving a huge thick piece along with a lot of little ones, and your going to end up with a hard potato in the middle of your mash) and add to a pot full of cold water on the stove.  There should be enough water to submerge the potatoes.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once it has been boiling for a few minutes, test the potatoes by stabbing them with a knife, if they slide off the knife quite easily then they’re ready to mash, so drain them and keep them in the pot off the heat.  Add the butter, pepper, and soya cream, and mash together until you have the consistency you prefer.  This may take a few tries until you’ve balance out the ingredients to the amount of potatoes you have in the bowl.  It’s always better to start small and add as required.

If the potato doesn't slide off the knife easily, it means it's not ready yet.

If I’m using salted butter (as pictured) I don’t add salt, but if I decide to use the unsalted butter, I add some low salt to the mix to taste.

In terms of texture, this is HIGHLY debatable.  I for one don’t like pureed potatoes, I feel like I’m being fed baby food.  I prefer mashed potatoes with a bite, by mashing them with a potato masher until I can’t see whole potato anymore yet it still keeps upright on the end of a fork.

Your welcome to take this version and change it to your own, however, I would like to know where you go with it, by leaving a comment.

Source : Julian Borg Barthet

Servings/Yield : as much as you have potato (2 large potatoes is enough for 2 people)

Rating : 5 out of 5

Difficulty : Easy

Course : Main

Tags: alpro, healthy, kerrygold, lowfat, mashed, potato, provamel, side dish, soya, soyacream, vegetables, white pepper