The first time I made these lemon flavored mashed potatoes it was out of curiosity. I typically trust Bon Appetit so even though it seemed a strange combination of ingredients for mashed potatoes, I love lemon in so many things I thought these worth a try. After completing the dish and of course taking a small taste, I had to put the dish under lock and key so that I wouldn’t finish off the bowl before dinner. Well, maybe a slight exaggeration but just barely.
The lemon is obvious but not overly so…and mixed with garlic, green onion and buttermilk it makes for an outstanding side dish; combining a fabulous flavor with an unexpectedly pretty dish of mashed potatoes…which we know don’t normally make a great presentation! I usually make this for Thanksgiving but jumped the gun a bit this year as I learned last year that I had better get some dishes done now so that I can make recommendations for holiday dishes. They HAD to be included, trust me, they are that good!
I don’t recall if the original recipe used red potatoes but they’re what I use and I prefer a sort of chunky, skin on type of mashed (guess they’re called smashed) potato anyhow. The recipe also calls for chives and I expected to get some from the garden…but found them a little lacking this late in the season so substituted green onion and it worked just fine!
NOTE: We love these potatoes with our Thanksgiving meal and almost love them even more the next day if we have leftovers. Pat potatoes into a patty shape and fry them either in butter or canola oil for a great addition to your breakfast the following day!
Mashed Potatoes with Lemon, Garlic and Chives
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion (or fresh chives)
- 2 pounds red potatoes, cut in half (do not peel)
Directions
- Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 1-2 minutes; do not brown. Mix in lemon peel, then green onion or chives. Set aside.
- Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Return potatoes to pot and mash roughly; these are not meant to be the consistency of regular mashed potatoes. Add onion mixture, buttermilk and remaining 3 tablespoons butter and mash together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with fresh chives or green onion.
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I am an avid Bon Appetit reader and cannot believe I MISSED these! However, now that I have seen them on your blog, I am making these… like this weekend!! All my favorite flavors rolled into one!!
These look SO yummy, I can’t wait to try the recipe. What a great combination of flavors!!
As soon as I saw this, I thought of the recipe for Cream of Leek and Potato Soup in the cookbook “From Our House to Yours” and the lemon made perfect sense. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, yes! And I think I’d like these even better with the green onions in place of chives. Absolutely have to try these this weekend.
You are so good with family-style dishes, love the flavor combo and I’ll add this to my recipe box along with your Cilantro Rice.
As always, great photo! I’ve always operated under the premise that plain ol mashed potatoes are so good, why add any flavor to them at all. BUT, this past weekend we went to dinner at friends and she made mashed potatoes from the Co. Collage cookbook that had carrots and chilis. Delicious and I’m ready for any mashed potato combo.
Thanks Lea Ann…and I’m with you..until I tried these. You will love them; the lemon brings such an unexpected but amazingly good flavor to them.
I love mashed potatoes! Good recipe to try in the cooler months.Looks delish!
I get so bored with garlic mashed and horseradish mashed…this is a winner! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
Oh. My. You’re right – I could eat an entire bowlful or even POTful of this. Now.
Oh Barb- your brilliance- er well, Bon Appetit’s- knows no bounds. I am almost embarrassed I have never thought of this simple yet obviously winning combo.
Hehe…yeah, well I decided to not peel the potatoes and mash the heck out of them! Brilliant? Or lazy?
These look and sound delicious, and easy!
I have some buttermilk I made for some creme fraiche… might need to put some in here! Great post, Barbara!
Thank you Brian, high praise indeed!
These sound wonderful. Great combination….I will be trying them soon.
Thank you, thank you!
Welcome, welcome!