Hola Mi Gente,
I’ll be totally honest: when I first started thinking about Thanksgiving recipes, I was TOTALLY against posting a mashed potatoes recipe because there are SO MANY GOOD mashed potato recipes out there in cyberspace. But then, you’re probably not going to believe this, I had a dream that I was making these potatoes. A continual dream–for an entire night I dreamt about the sizzle of brown butter + white wine, and chanterelles. If I’m being soap-opera dramatic, I would say that this was a divine intervention.
Also, for all of you wondering, yes I DO have the most vivid dreams in the world. Sometimes they’re about cooking. Sometimes they feel like really intense action movies. Sometimes they’re nightmares about me forgetting how to get to my favorite gelateria in Florence 😭
But let’s talk about why you want these mashed potatoes:
First of all, they’re SO creamy. Creamy mashed potatoes are good. BUT THEN you top them with a pillow of chanterelle mushrooms in a white wine-brown butter-garlic sauce and they get SO delicious they’ll float you all the way up to cloud 9. I’m telling you, mi gente, the nuttiness of the brown butter in combination with richly sautéed garlic, and the earthy delicious flavors of chanterelles. HELLO. WHY WOULD YOU NOT WANT THE BOUGIE-ST MASHED POTATOES IN THE LAND???
So maybe you’re not convinced yet because you’ve been HEARING all about brown butter, but you’re not really sure why it makes things taste better? I’m glad you asked. Brown butter is the process of melting and heating butter until it separates into the protein and the fat. As it cooks past this point and begins to take on a copper-whiskey tone, it begins to take on a totally different flavor. Think of all the reasons you love regular butter–the creamy melty texture, the salty and sweet combination: now think of these flavors heightened + a nutty carmelized flavor added to it <– is why we love brown butter. It’s kind of also an all-in-one seasoning tool because the flavor packs such a punch.
When you add chanterelles to this with garlic, the naturally bitter taste of raw chanterelles melts into a rich hearty flavor. To add a little acidity to the sauce so that there is a little balance, I poured in just a sprinkle of pinot grigio.
One extra tip to get super fluffy mashed potatoes is to use a potato ricer.
This thing takes most of the work out of mashing and makes for super smooth mashed potatoes! I use this one.
Love & Bougie Potatoes,
Brown Butter Chanterelle Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
For Mashed Potatoes
- 2 Lbs Russet Potatoes Peeled and quartered
- 1.5 C Milk
- 1 TBSP Butter
- Salt To Taste
For Chanterelle Topping
- 3 TBSP Butter
- 4 OZ Chenterelles Sliced
- 3 Cloves garlic Finely Minced
- 2 TBSP Dry White Wine
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
- 3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
Instructions
For Mashed Potatoes
- Add potatoes to a large pot and boil until potatoes are tender (about 20 minutes). Drain potatoes and mash with a potato ricer. Add milk, butter, an salt to taste. Place in a baking dish and broil in the oven until the top of the potatoes are crisp, but not burnt (about 1-3 minutes). Set aside.
For Chanterelle Topping
- In a pan, melt butter over medium head until foam develops. Once the butter is foaming, add the garlic and thyme until the butter begins to turn a golden brown color. Add in the chanterelles, white wine and allow to simmer together for about 3 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender. Pour mixture over mashed potatoes, allow to cool slightly, serve & enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
