Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic
Yukon Golds riced smooth, then folded with roasted garlic and nutty brown butter — no lumps, no apology for the butter.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Written
Method
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Heat the oven to 400°F. Slice the top off the garlic head to expose the cloves, drizzle with the olive oil, wrap tightly in foil, and roast until the cloves are soft enough to squeeze out easily, about 40 minutes.
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Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by an inch, and add a generous pinch of salt.
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Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until a knife slides through a potato with no resistance, 15 to 20 minutes.
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While the potatoes cook, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until it turns amber and smells nutty, 5 to 7 minutes.
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Drain the potatoes well and pass them through a ricer back into the warm pot.
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Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the potatoes, then fold in the brown butter and warmed milk until the mash is loose and glossy.
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Season with the kosher salt and more to taste, then top with chives before serving.
Notes
Ricing the potatoes instead of mashing them by hand is what keeps this smooth instead of gluey — a masher or food processor pushed too far overworks the starch and turns the potatoes to paste. No ricer, no problem: a hand masher works fine as long as you stop the moment the lumps are gone.
These reheat well, which makes them a genuine make-ahead side. Spread the cooled mash in a baking dish, dot with butter, cover, and warm at 350°F for 20 minutes, stirring in a splash of milk halfway through. No roasted garlic on hand — a raw clove, minced and sautéed in the brown butter for a minute, gets most of the way there.