ARCHIDUC is right on. Mashed potatoes and smashed potatoes are not the same. The term "smashed" means just that. You just smash them with a fork, or a potato masher but you don't whip them. They should be lumpy with chunks of potato, not smooth. I use redskins and leave the skins on. I prefer these to whipped because I like the texture. And like all good chefs, I NEVER use an electric mixer to whip the potatoes when mashing. This can result in a non-textured gummy mass. I use a ricer, then "whip" with a fork adding butter, cream and/or blue cheese, chedder cheese, horseradish, garlic butter, compound butter or any number of other flavorings.
Hi DramaQueen,
Glad to see we are in agreement, especially re. not using anything electrical to treat the tatties. I live in Scotland so we call potatoes "tatties". Anyway, I digress.
Alternative flavourings for trying:
* add some puréed smoked garlic for serving with duck breast, roast goose, pork - roast/chops or lamb - especially lamb -yum, yum, yummy(!);
* finely shred and sauté quickly in butter and OO some finely shredded Savoy cabbage. Add a little stock to prevent burning whilst the cabbage cooks and mix with either smashed or mashed tatties. Serve with pork or ham. Honey glazed pork chops on a bed of this tattie mix with spinach stuffed tomatoes - well I`ve died and gone to foodie heaven (!);
* smashed or mashed tatties mixed with whole grain mustard (and it HAS to be wholegrain mustard) served as a base for beef. This is especially good if served with beef collops which are braised slices of beef cooked in a beer and stock mix or with pickled walnuts. In other words, a traditional boeuf carbonnade but using a more tender/expensive cut that one slices rather than cubed beef. Apologies, as I`m not explaining this well but UK cuts of beef are different from USA cuts. I suppose another way of thinking is that the beef needs to be a braising cut which one can slice and braise so that when cooked the slices lie on top of the potato whereas cubes of beef would look crude;
* mashed potatoes/tatties mixed with the cooked white of leek which has been thinly sliced and cooked in butter and OO. Serve with ham, pork and poultry. If making for duck breasts, I would cook a little of the green of leek.
* Westpahlian potatoes - smashed/mashed mixed with purée of apples (cooking) and serve with goose, duck or venison and a red cabbage flavoured with carraway seeds or other spices but not including apples. There are many classic ways of cooking red cabbage which do not include apples - for example, red cabbage with prunes is just one variation. Antonio Carluccio has a fabulous recipe for red cabbage with beetroot which would be good here.
* smashed/mashed tatties with VERY finely diced spring onions/scallions and used as a base on which to serve a pan fried fillet of fish like salmon or mackerel.
* if all else fails, a bowl of smashed/mashed tatties with any addition or one makes the perfect comfort food!
All the best,
Archiduc