Chunky Chipotle Mashed Potatoes

I've been trying to cook a lot more but our kitchen is super tiny and sometimes I'm just too lazy.

The other day however, I was pumped!

So I decided to make some Chunky Chipotle Mashed Potatoes.

The recipe is from Pati's Mexican Table.

CHUNKY CHIPOTLE MASHED POTATOES Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds red potatoes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 scallions
1 chile from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, or to taste
1 to 2 tablespoon chipotles in adobo sauce, optional
1/2 cup milk
Kosher or sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

TO PREPARE
Rinse and quarter the potatoes. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes over medium- high heat, or until thoroughly cooked and soft. Drain.
In a large, heavy skillet set over medium heat, add the chunks of butter. Once it melts and begins to bubble, stir in the scallions and cook for a couple of minutes until they soften. Add the chopped chipotle chile and combine well. Add the cooked potatoes along with the milk.
Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, mash the potatoes roughly as you mix them with the chipotle and scallion mixture. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Serve hot.



As always you have to bear with me because I don't measure.

I think that if you cook or start cooking you'll find that sometimes things don't always work out.

Because sometimes you don't have three hands or a Kitchen Aid mixer to slowly add the eggs to the hot liquid before it congeals and cooks. Or you don't have the right kind of slow cooker that goes from its pot to the oven (though that seems needless -- isn't the point of the slow cooker to set it and forget it?).

In this case I didn't have 4 other people to feed or a ginormous pot to house 3 pounds of potatoes and the water needed to boil them.

WHAT I DID:
I filled my pot about halfway with water and then added potatoes one quarter by one quarter when it came to a boil so that I was sure that there would be enough room.

• I used 2 tablespoons of butter since I didn't have 3 pounds of potatoes.
• I added all 4 scallions because I love them.
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobe sauce. One with the seeds and one I de-seeded to add only the flavor but not the heat.
• I didn't end up adding any additional adobo sauce.
• I used just a little bit less than half a cup of milk. About 1/3 cup.
• I added garlic, finely minced when I added the scallions to the butter.
• I mashed my potatoes with a fork, and yes it took forever, because I don't have a potato masher or a wooden spoon.
• When the potatoes were ready I added a bit of Mexican shredded cheese in the mix.

Neither John nor I were sure we'd like them. As the only chipotle thing I like is the restaurant (and I don't even think they have chipotles in their food) I didn't have high hopes of liking this dish. But when I saw Pati make it on TV it looked delicious. I think that's how those cooking shows get you. They way they film and photograph it -- they can make anything look delicious.

So needless to say that when I tried them I was apprehensive. But after doing the whole three taste thing. The first taste to taste, the second to acclimate the palate, and the third to decide -  I was very happy with the way they came out.

The chipotle adobe sauce definitely adds another layer to what is essentially loaded mashed potatoes. It makes the potatoes smokey and spicy but with the butter and the milk, still creamy enough to be reminiscent of the much beloved side dish.

In her show Pati serves them with some chicken thing but as I have yet to fully understand the concept of cooking whole meals, I ate mine with an avocado sandwich.