Golden Mashed Potatoes
Turmeric & Garlic Infused Oil-free Vegan Mashed Potatoes
These golden oil-free vegan mashed potatoes are as pretty on the plate as they taste and no need for an electric mixer. A balloon whisk and the pan the potatoes are cooked in will do the trick and ready to serve in 30 minutes.
Technique for Oil-free Vegan Golden Mashed Potatoes
This technique and recipe enhances the flavor without masking the delicate taste of the Yukon Gold potato. As the potatoes simmer, a delicious broth emerges that becomes the only liquid used to make smooth rich-tasting fluffy fat-free golden mashed potatoes. The turmeric adds a slight earthy flavor and the beautiful golden hue.
I developed this technique and recipe described in the instructions below because my husband is a huge fan of mashed potatoes. Discouraged by all the equipment needed and I never liked the fatty mouth feel of mashed potatoes from the cream and butter, I was inspired to find a way to make mashed potatoes with less mess, less equipment and fat-free. This technique does it all.
In a nutshell the technique is: Scrub, Peel or score skin, Cut, Rinse, Spice, Simmer, Whisk
(see the video below for a quick demo of the technique)
Which Potatoes?
Many varieties of potatoes work well with this high flavor recipe, but Yukon Gold really shine, have the perfect texture and are available year-round at the Farmers Market and in grocery stores.
The potatoes can be simmered with the potato skin peeled or left on. For potatoes with thicker skin, you may want to peel. For fresher potatoes with very thin skin, you can leave on after a really thorough cleaning. Most of the fiber is in the skin, so it’s a shame to loose all that. Scoring the potato skin with a knife will make it so the skin pieces are small and integrate with the potatoes for a smooth texture (see photo #2). If you choose to leave the skin on skin, scrub the potatoes thoroughly with vegetable scrub gloves or a vegetable scrub brush.
If you choose to peel the potatoes, don’t throw the peels in the compost bin just yet. You can use the peels to make Oil-free Potato Skin Crisps for a crunchy and delicious garnish or appetizer with a dip like the oil-free Silky Smooth Vegan Hollandaise.
Fresh Turmeric Root or Dried Turmeric Powder
You can use turmeric powder sometimes called ground turmeric or fresh grated turmeric root for this Golden Mashed Potato dish. Like dried garlic and ginger, the dried powder version of turmeric has a different taste to its fresh counterpart. Fresh turmeric root has a brighter flavor, slightly more gingery, while the dried turmeric has a deep, more earthy flavor. Both dried turmeric powder and fresh turmeric root infuse well with the potatoes and give the beautiful golden color.
Turmeric powder is added to the potatoes prior to simmering, see step 6 in the instructions.
Fresh turmeric root is grated and then added to the pan following the grated garlic in step # 9. It does stain fingers, and anything it touches, so you may want to use kitchen gloves and a separate board. Fresh turmeric root started appearing in mainstream grocery stores several years ago. It is located the produce section usually near ginger root and peppers. It is also available at many Asian grocery stores, local food coops and sometimes at Farmers markets.
Light Golden Garlic
Fresh grated garlic adds an extra depth to this oil-free vegan mashed potato dish. Forming a layer of grated garlic on the bottom of the pan over medium heat seasons and flavors the pan just before adding the potatoes and water with will deglaze the pan. The amount used here, won’t make “garlic potatoes”, but rather a deeper savory flavor!
Tools Used in this Recipe
- vegetable scrub glove or vegetable brush
- chef or Santoku knife
- Cutting Board
- potato peeler if removing skin
- salad spinner or prep bowl and colander
- large prep bowl
- fine grater
- 3–4 qt sauce pan
- balloon whisk
- ladle
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Yukon gold Potatoes about 8 medium sized potatoes
- 1 1/2 tsps turmeric powder or 3 tablespoons of grated fresh turmeric root
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tsps white miso or 1/4 tsp salt, optional (omit for SOS free version)*
- 2 tbls grated garlic 4–6 cloves
- 4 cups filtered water see note below for a deeper garlic flavor**
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes really well with a vegetable glove or vegetable brush. Continue to step #2 if you want to leave the potato skin on OR continue to step #3 if you want to peel the skin.
- Leave the potato skin on: Score the skin in several directions with a sharp knife to avoid having large pieces of skin in the mix. This way when you mash with a whisk the skin will integrate into the potatoes and give an overall smooth texture. OR
- Peel the Skin off: Peel the potatoes, and set aside to make oil-free potato skin crisps (see link below)
- Cut in quarters or sixths or eighths, depending on how large they are. Place in a large bowl.
- Add water to the salad spinner and put it in the potatoes to rinse and lift out to drain them. This step will take off the excess starch and leave just enough water to let the spices cling in the next step.
- Place the drained potatoes in the prep bowl. and sprinkle lightly with salt if using and toss in the bowl. If using turmeric powder, sprinkle with turmeric, toss again and sprinkle again. The potatoes should be a light golden color at this point. If using fresh grated turmeric root instead of turmeric powder, See step #10
- Grind some black pepper, toss and grind a little more and toss again. If you don’t want black specks, you can use white pepper instead or leave it out and add at the table. Set the bowl aside while you start the pan.
- If using Stainless Steel pan: Heat the saucepan to medium heat. Test the pan with a little water. The water should bead up and move quickly on the pan surface when the pan is hot enough for the garlic.If using Non-stick or Enameled pan: Heat the pan to medium with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. When the water starts to boil (about 3–5 minutes) the pan is ready. Don’t let the water evaporate before adding the garlic.
- Add the grated garlic to the pan and push down with the flat edge of the spatula to form a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.
- Continue to move the uncooked garlic around the pan, for 2–3 minutes. It should stick to the bottom of the pan forming a thin layer, light gold in color and fragrant. Do not let the garlic get fully golden or browned which can give an off taste in this dish.If you are using fresh grated turmeric root, add to the pan and stir into the garlic and proceed.
- Add the potatoes to the pan.
- Fill the pan with the filtered water to just cover the potatoes. If using miso, put the miso in a small bowl with 1/4 cup or so of the water. Stir well, then add in with the potatoes (this step ensures the miso will distribute in the potato mix).
- Rub the bottom of the pan to release the golden garlic layer and mix into the potatoes. Place the lid on, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Then remove the lid, give it a stir and let simmer for 10 minutes more without the lid on to reduce the broth and finish cooking the potatoes.
- Test the potatoes with a toothpick or small sharp knife. It should go easily through, even break apart and not look chalky in the center. Continue simmering if needed and check every few minutes.
- With a soup ladle, remove excess broth and set aside. It s easy to add the broth back in if needed, but if there is too much liquid the potatoes will be runny and it is hard to fix.
- Start breaking up the potatoes with the whisk.
- Then start stirring in a figure-eight or circular motion until smooth or the texture you like. Add in the set aside liquid only if needed to get the right texture. This liquid is also good to add a little if you have leftovers the next day when you reheat.
- Place the lid back on until you are ready to serve this beautiful dish of Oil-free Vegan Golden Mashed Potatoes. Garnish with your favorite herb.
