These are the creamiest rosemary mashed potatoes, perfectly seasoned and enriched with butter and cream. They’re taken up a level by infusing the cream with rosemary, giving them a subtle savoury and aromatic depth, and topped with crispy potato skins for a contrasting texture.
This recipe for rosemary mashed potatoes is inspired by Pierre Koffmann’s pommes purée. The potatoes are cooked in heavily salted water so they’re properly seasoned all the way through, then dried out before being riced, with butter and warm cream folded through until smooth. Here, the cream is gently infused with rosemary before being incorporated, a simple enhancement that adds another layer of flavour to the potatoes.
In this Post
- Ingredients
- How to Make Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
- Variations & Substitutions
- Storing & Reheating Leftovers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Recipe
Ingredients
Potatoes: Use a starchy potato like Yukon Gold or Agria, as I have used here. This will help get that creamy texture when mashed.
Oil: Use a high smoke point vegetable oil like canola or rapeseed that you usually would for frying. (Olive oil is not suitable for this recipe)
Heavy Cream: The cream is what will really smooth out the mashed potatoes so do not omit it! This is also how we infuse the rosemary flavour.
Rosemary: This adds a depth of flavour to your mashed potatoes. You can substitute the rosemary for a different herb such as thyme or tarragon.
Butter: After cutting your butter into cubes, put it back into the refrigerator until ready to use so it melts slower in the hot potatoes.
How to Make Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and cooking instructions.
ONE: Wash and peel potatoes. Leave peels to dry and cut potatoes into quarters.
TWO: Fry potato skins in oil then drain and dry.
THREE: Cook potatoes in a large pot over medium heat for 20 minutes then strain in a colander and leave to steam and dry under a clean tea towel.
FOUR: Pass potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Fold cold butter through mashed potatoes.
FIVE: Gently heat cream with rosemary to 80℃, then strain the cream into the mashed potatoes.
SIX: Fold cream through mashed potatoes until fully incorporated.
Variations & Substitutions
As mentioned already, you can substitute the fresh rosemary for thyme or tarragon. You can experiment with different spices too, such as cardamom and star anise. Softer herbs like parsley don’t work as well for the infusion method. But, you can totally fold some fresh chopped parsley through the mashed potatoes when you add the cream.
If you don’t have room on your stove (or time) to be frying your potato skins, buy a packet of plain potato crisps and crush them over your mashed potatoes instead. Or take it up a notch and add some crispy diced pancetta or bacon to the mix!
Storing & Reheating Leftovers
If you are not planning to eat all your mashed potatoes at once, only garnish what you are serving. The crispy potato skins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days before losing their crisp.
You can store the mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge (ensure they have fully cooled down before sealing and refrigerating) for a few days.
To reheat, add a small amount of cold water to the mashed potatoes in a saucepan and gently fold them over medium heat until hot. Add more water if they start to dry out.
Frequently Asked Questions
The starches in the potato help to give mashed potatoes their texture and structure; other root vegetables like celeriac or parsnip will also mash well. Using different vegetables such as cauliflower instead of potatoes will not give the same result.
I have used Agria potatoes as they have a good amount of starch. Yukon Gold potatoes would be another good option.
This recipe is best made and served straight away. However, if you do make it ahead, have a look at my storing and reheating section above.
Yes! If you don’t have a potato ricer, a potato masher will work as well. The finer the mash the better.
The Recipe
I’d love to hear how you get on with making this recipe if you try it and how much you enjoyed eating it! Leave a review below for me to read, or tag me on Instagram if you share a photo.
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Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
The creamiest, most perfectly seasoned mashed potatoes; flavoured with rosemary, topped with crispy potato skins.
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 people 1x
Ingredients
- 800 grams potatoes, washed
- 1/2 – 1 cup cooking oil for frying
- 1 litre cold water
- 20 grams salt
- 200 grams cold butter diced into 1cm cubes
- 100 millilitres heavy cream
- 5 grams rosemary sprig
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and wash the peelings under hot tap water in a colander until the water runs clear. This washes the starch off the surface to help them go crispy when fried. Pat excess water off with a paper towel and leave them to dry.
- Heat cooking oil in a saucepan to 170℃. Cook the potato skins in batches in the oil for about 5 minutes until lightly browned then strain and leave to dry on a paper towel set over a wire rack.
- Cut potatoes into quarters then place in a wide saucepan with cold water and salt. Bring the water to the boil over high heat then turn the heat down so the water is just simmering. Once you have turned the heat down, cook potatoes for 20 minutes. After this time you should be able to slide a sharp knife in without much resistance, this means the potatoes are ready.
- Strain the potatoes in a colander then leave them to steam and dry with a clean tea towel over them.
- Meanwhile, heat the cream and rosemary over medium-high heat, swirling the cream frequently so it covers the rosemary. Once it reaches 80℃ remove from heat and set aside.
- Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Add the cold butter and quickly but gently fold through until it has melted and fully incorporated. Use large folding movements to ensure you don’t overwork the potato as it will become gluey.
- Strain the cream into the mashed potatoes and gently fold through until fully incorporated.
- Serve the mashed potatoes in a serving bowl or individual plates topped with the crispy potato skins.
Notes
- Salt water. The water is seasoned with 2% salt. When doubling or tripling the recipe, you may not need double or triple the water. Just make sure you maintain the 2% salt seasoning, and there is enough water to cover the potatoes.
- Folding in the butter. The key to achieving the light yet creamy texture for mashed potatoes is the fast but gentle folding of the cold butter and then the cream.
- Heating the cream. Be careful not to over heat the cream or it will burn. If you do not have a thermometer, heat until it starts steaming but do not let it bubble.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
Serve these mashed potatoes with one of these dishes
Crispy Chicken Cotoletta with Fresh Salsa Verde
This chicken cotoletta is a simple, reliable dish that is full of flavour. The chicken is coated in a crisp parmesan crumb and served with a fresh salsa verde made with parsley, capers and lemon.
Annie says
Huge step up from my standard milk & butter mash. Recipe is super easy to follow and great to make the mash in advance/ use the reheating instructions to cut down on the stress of preparing a meal for a larger group.