If you are the one who cooks at this time of the year.....
Fun facts, a brown butter Boursin Mash recipe, enjoy the holidays.
This Guest post is written by
a food writer at ‘Seasonal Vegetarian’. Jackie creates recipes with fresh, seasonal produce and learns about history, culture, and language while doing so!
If you’re reading this, you’re probably the one who cooks.
If you’re the one who cooks, this time of year, you’re probably inundated with glossy pictures of perfectly plated dishes, everything from scratch- Don’t even THINK about looking at a can opener or box of pre-prepared whatever.
It can feel alienating and exhausting when the kitchen, usually the best place to be, becomes a place of stress and overwhelm as you prep for a busy holiday season, especially when everything has to be *perfect*.
I’m not immune to this pressure; for this guest post, I had planned an impressive and aggressively from-scratch vegan manicotti dish, replete with whole foods and fun flavors.
It was Tuesday night, and it turned out… not great. Not inedible, but not what I wanted at all. My husband had three helpings, but it was too mushy, the flavors fought each other for attention, and probably least importantly (but most devastatingly), all the photos looked like a pile of Italian adjacent mush.
A fun fact about the word mush- it comes from Old English, and is a variant of “mash,” meaning “to beat into a soft mass.” Delicious!
Holiday Perfectionism is nothing new. In the Medieval period, the Head Steward was in charge of making sure the royals’ feasts went exactly according to plan. At the 1468 wedding of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, witness accounts herald the main banquet table, “like a green meadow surrounded with flowering branches to which violets and other sweet-smelling flowers had been attached.”
The French royals, at Versaille, were especially known to do too much when it came to the holidays, partying hard from Advent until Epiphany. That took the work of hundreds, likely very stressed-out stewards, cooks, and servants.
Much like the ones who cooked back then, a lot of our identity today is tied up in hosting and delighting our guests and loved ones. It’s not cooking, it’s creating memories! It’s not cooking, it’s feeding and nourishing the people you care about most. It can feel like a holiday-flavored defeat when it's not *just right*.
Well take this as a reminder; someone is grateful for your pile of Italian-adjacent mush. Someone is eating the food you made for them, in all of its imperfections, and feels the love you put into every step of the dish.
When we cook with shame- shame about using pre-made ingredients, or shame about something not being pretty, or not interesting and exciting, it comes through our food. Whether with sauces you made from scratch from tomatoes you grew yourself, or a jar of something you picked up from the store, cooking with love will always make the food taste extra delicious.
Now chill out. You’re not serving Marie Antoinette herself. Enjoy the holidays and make some of these bomb-ass mashed potatoes for someone you love. (Even if it’s just yourself!)
Brown Butter Boursin Mashed Potatoes
Makes enough for 6 generous side helpings.
Ingredients
3 lbs Russet potatoes
Salt for boiling the potatoes
2 sticks (1 c.) salted butter
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 container (5.2 oz) Garlic and Herb Boursin
1 tbsp kosher salt
Pepper, to taste
Optional
Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, or sage
Ed’s Notes. 1 stick of butter is approx 113grams/1/2 cup)
Process
Let your potatoes sit in cold water for 10-15 minutes to loosen any dirt. Use a bristle brush and scrub them until they shine (or at least until they’re super clean.)
Use a small paring knife to remove any sprouts or eyes. Chop into equal size chunks- aim for 2”-3” pieces.
And yes, we’re leaving the peel on. Don’t be afraid!
Fill a pot with cold water. Add a generous sprinkle of kosher salt and the potatoes. Turn the stove to high and bring to a boil. Let cook for 20-25 minutes- check if they’re done with a fork at the 15 minute mark. Once done boiling, drain the water and set the potatoes aside, with a lid on to conserve the heat.
In a small sauce pan, add your 2 sticks of butter and garlic cloves.
Stir every few minutes as the butter and garlic cook on low heat. It will take 10-15 minutes for the butter to brown. It’ll start to smell toasty and you’ll see visible browning. The garlic will look golden and crunchy. Once you reach this point, take the butter/garlic off the heat and set aside.
If you’re using fresh herbs, now is the time to rinse, destem, and finely chop them. Set aside.
Now for the most important part: the mashing!
Some people swear by a ricer; that’s all well and good. I love these old-school mashers; you know, the ones that mess up your utensil drawers. It’s worth the pain.
Add the Boursin, salt, fresh herbs (if using), and half of the brown butter. Mash until they reach your desired fluffiness and consistency. Before serving, create a little crater in the middle of the potatoes, and pour in the rest of the brown butter. Sprinkle any extra fresh herbs on top, and ENJOY!
Notes
Give me more potato recipes!!!
Okay okay! Take them!
Easy Gnocchi with Beans and Broccoli
Creamy Black Bean Tomatillo Soup
Goat Cheese Polenta with Roasted Root Veg
Uhhhh… can we talk about the peels now?
Okay here we go- this may be controversial, but if you’re not eating your potato peels, I need you to grow up a little bit. Not only do the have over half of the potato’s fiber, (and a ton of flavor!) but you can also save yourself a ton of time and effort by leaving them on. The benefits clearly outweigh the downsides.
Can I use an immersion blender?
No, no, please do not. Russets have a lot of starch; that’s what makes them delicious and filling. When you use an immersion blender on them, it encourages the potatoes to release too much starch, which makes the consistency gummy and sticky. Not ideal.
If you want a smoother, easier potato, after mashing, use an egg beater to whip some air into them.
If you’re dying to use your immersion blender, this potato poblano soup is just the ticket!
How do I make this dairy free?
They make vegan Boursin now! If you want to make it from scratch- see a quick recipe here. Sub out plant based butter and you’re good to go.
Tell me some fun potato facts?
The Incans domesticated the humble potato almost 10,000 years ago. In Quechua, their native language, they called it “papa,” which means tuber. The English word potato comes from the Taino word “batata,” which originally referred to sweet potatoes. In the 16th century, the Spanish came to the Caribbean and brought potatoes, both sweet and not, back to Europe, where the starchy veg spread like wildfire.
Thank you, a billion times for reading. Happy Thanksgiving and love you lots!
Many thanks to
for this lovely post and recipe. Please visit and subscribe to Seasonal Vegetarian for more recipes.
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I loved every single thing about this but, holy smokes, those brown butter boursin mashed potatoes may be all I need in the world right now.
“It’s not cooking, it’s creating memories” is a good mantra, especially this week! Thanks for sharing. These potatoes sound delish!