Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Spinach-Garlic Potatoes

This doesn't have much color, but d*mn, these are soooo good... my all-time favorite way to make mashed potatoes. Super creamy and cheesy, bursting with garlic and peppered with butter-soaked spinach leaves. My mother used to use these spuds to trick me into eating greens when I was younger. It worked every time. A perfect, fast side dish to any meat.


Serves 2 to 3
35 minutes
-large pot, non-stick is best
-medium saucepan
-potato masher
Easy

INGREDIENTS
6 to 8 medium small red potatoes
6 to 8 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh spinach
1 to 2 Tbsp. butter (or lactose-free alternative)
1/3 c. heavy cream -OR- 1/4 c. sour cream-- I used Tofutti better than sour cream
[~1/3 c. Parmesan cheese; optional... I used a little Galaxy Nutritional Foods mozzarella rice shreds]

DIRECTIONS
1. Scrub, then cut potatoes into coarse,1 to 2 inch chunks (they don't have to be exact.. ). Don't bother peeling the potatoes unless you have russets and not red potatoes.
2. Peel the remove the 'bottom' part of each garlic clove. Don't bother dicing... like the potatoes, they will be mashed, too.
3. Place potato pieces and whole garlic cloves into a large pot. Fill with water until potatoes are well covered. Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat, then cook until potatoes are tender-- about 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Wash the spinach while the potatoes are boiling. Place spinach in the medium saucepan with the butter. If using heavy cream.. add in the heavy cream here. Heat over medium-low heat until the butter melts (shouldn't take more than 5 minutes); the spinach should also wilt. Don't scorch the heavy cream. Stir well, then turn off the heat.
5. Turn back to the potatoes: drain the cooked spuds, reserving a little bit of the cooking liquid. Place potatoes and garlic into another bowl (just make sure they are out of your non-stick pot) and mash coarsely by hand. Stir in the spinach and butter [and heavy cream] mixture. If using the sour cream, now is the time to stir in the sour cream.
6. Add in the Parmesan cheese and continue mashing until it's the consistency you want. If the spuds are too stiff, add in a little more of the reserved cooking liquid (or heavy cream.. whatever you feel comfortable doing!). Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm alongside turkey.

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