Mashed Potatoes with Mascarpone

Ah. Mashed potatoes. With some little puddles of melted butter. What's there not to like, I ask you?


When I was planning the menu for the dinner I did the other night, I wanted something to go with the pork chops and apple cider sauce. Something that would also be a vehicle for the sauce. I could have made plain rice (which I admit, sounded the best), but somehow the cider sauce didn't sound good with brown rice. I rarely make white rice anymore. I actually don't make mashed potatoes much either. Last time was Thanksgiving dinner. But, after pondering my menu, I decided mashed potatoes were the best fit. But not just plain mashed potatoes. Once I consulted my recipe collection I knew the mashed potatoes with mascarpone was the right one. It has tons of chopped Italian parsley in it, and of course, an ample amount of mascarpone.


Probably most people think mascarpone is used mostly for desserts. And here in the U.S., I suppose it is. But after all, it's just a cheese. Something like cream cheese, but made a bit differently. It has a consistency that's in between sour cream and cream cheese, and it has a very creamy taste. The credit for this recipe goes to Tarla Fallgatter, a cooking instructor here in our part of the world.


You cook the potatoes with the green onions, which flavors the potatoes throughout. Then you mash them by hand (you want a few lumps) and add in the mascarpone, a bit of the water you cooked the potatoes in, and a mound of chopped Italian parsley. Season it, and you're done. Making this recipe seemed like the right option since I could make this ahead. Once made, I plopped the whole batch into my crockpot and set it to low, then scooped it out into a serving bowl at the last minute. Delicious.


Cook's Notes: be sure to save a cup of the potato water when you drain the potato and green onion mixture. And be careful adding white pepper - it's more potent than black pepper.

Mashed Potatoes with Mascarpone
Recipe: Tarla Fallgatter, cooking instructor
Servings: 8
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes -- scrubbed
2 bunches green onions -- coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups Mascarpone cheese -- room temperature
1/4 cup Italian Parsley -- chopped
Ground white pepper and salt -- to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Cut the potatoes into large chunks if they're big. Cover with water in a large saucepan and add green onions. Add salt, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. Return potatoes to the pan and coarsely mash them with a potato masher, add cheese, parsley and some of the cooking liquid if they are too stiff. Add additional liquid to make the right consistency. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.
NOTES : Be careful of the white pepper - it's powerful stuff.
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 263 Calories; 13g Fat (43.9% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 31g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 37mg Cholesterol; 25mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 2 1/2 Fat.
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