Boursin Mashed Potatoes
Boursin, a garlicky, herby French soft cheese, dials up the flavor of mashed potatoes.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 2 pounds medium-sized or small red potatoes, skins left on, scrubbed and cubed
- salt
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), sliced
- 1/4 cup hot milk
- 1 5.2-ounce package Garlic and Fine Herbs Boursin Cheese
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus more for garnish (see Kitchen Notes)
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Put potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by an inch or two. Season lightly with salt, bring to a boil and cook until easily pierced with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and return to pan. Add butter slices and mash until mostly smooth. Add milk and mash to incorporate. If the potato skins are clumping together, you can remove a little, but do so sparingly—they add to the texture and visual appeal.
- Add the Boursin to the pan, along with 2 tablespoons of chopped chives. Mash until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed, and pepper. (You can make them ahead to this point and gently warm in a pan or microwave when ready to serve.) If you’re serving them now and they’re warm enough, transfer to a serving dish and top with additional chopped chives. Otherwise, gently rewarm in the pan first.
Kitchen Notes
Yes, you need the chives. They add a green, oniony liveliness to the dish. We didn’t have them on hand and many recipes don’t call for them, so we tried skipping the chives. When we tasted the finished dish, though, it was only okay to us. So we actually made a quick trip to the market and got some. They brought the potatoes to life.
Liz's Crockery Corner. The bowl above is Blue Willow. The Willow Pattern design dates back to the late 1700s (but this piece is much more recent). It was created by an English porcelain maker using a new technique called transfer printing that allowed the china to be mass produced instead of each piece being painted by hand, and English potteries mass produced it with a vengeance to feed an ever-growing demand. The Willow pattern has been in continuous production ever since, in potteries around the world. You can read more about Willow Pattern, including its key design elements, in this post here.