Mashed potato. Mmm, yum! I could easily curl up on the couch and work my way through a deep bowl of buttery mash, dotted with feta cheese for dinner. Alas, I can’t do this in front of my children because I insist they eat meals at the table and as a mother I must make an effort not to set a bad example – difficult at times though!

Mashed potato makes a perfect side dish to so many main meals. Potatoes really are the most versatile vegetable, which explains why they are the most popular veg in Australia today. This evening the mash took its place next to my melt in the mouth, slow cooked rosemary-scented lamb and steamed broccoli. 

My mother, who has a truly hospitable and nurturing character, is always generous when preparing and serving food. It’s impossible to leave her house without being fed well. It makes no difference if the visitor is not actually hungry. They will always find room for my mothers home cooked fare. When mum makes mashed potatoes she drops in decent amounts of butter and salt, then using an ordinary stainless steel potato masher, she pummels the spuds into a soft, steaming mass. The process is finished off by whipping the mash several times in a circular motion with the potato masher. 

I use the same technique, but with significantly less salt. I also add warm milk, a tip I picked up from my late Great Aunt Rose almost 20 years ago. The combination of the two methods and ingredients, results in a creamy, silky, flavoursome mash that doesn’t need to be pushed through a sieve or potato ricer.

Mashed Potatoes to serve 8 people

Ingredients
8 – 9 large potatoes (I use either Sebago or Pontiac depending on what’s in the pantry)
sea salt
150 grams of unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
100 ml warm full cream milk

Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut into eighths. If the cubes are too small the potatoes absorb too much water and the result is unpalatable, sloppy mash. This size works well. 

Put the potatoes into a large pot of cold water, making sure the water adequately covers the potatoes by about 3 cm. Put 2 teaspoons of salt into the water. 

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until a fork can easily pierce the potatoes. This will take about 20-25 minutes. 

Drain the water off the potatoes using a colander. 

Add all the butter and the warmed milk (warm this in the microwave) to the potatoes and mash with purpose!

Taste your mash and add an extra grind of salt if required. Best served and eaten warm.

Melt in the Mouth Lamb to serve 12 people
I find it worthwhile to cook an extra large quantity of this dish, as leftovers can be frozen, served the next day with buttered rice or stuffed into pastry to make easy lunch pasties. 

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil
1 x large diced onion, brown or white
4 x cloves crushed garlic
2 x large carrots cut into 2 cm – 3 cm rounds
1 x tablespoon fresh, finely chopped rosemary
2 kg diced lamb leg
350 ml dry white wine
1 x 400 g can of pureed or chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

In a cast iron pot, sauté the onions, garlic, carrots and rosemary in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil until they become glossy and golden (about 10 minutes). 

Remove from the pot, add a splash of olive oil and brown the lamb in 4 batches seasoning each batch with the salt and pepper to taste.

Add the white wine, boil it off for a full minute and then add the tomatoes and the veggie/rosemary mixture. 

Stir to combine, clamp on the lid and bake in a preheated fan forced oven at 150 degrees for 3 hours. At this point walk away and do something useful, interesting or enjoyable depending on what’s on your list for the day. 

When serving the lamb, spoon over some of the pot roasted juices, alongside steamed greens and the mashed potato.