Miso mashed potatoes are rich and delicious comfort food. Try our twist on a classic side dish for dinner tonight.
It suddenly seems we’ve gone a bit crazy for miso paste. We can’t seem to write a new recipe without including or even basing the entire thing around this ingredient. But we can’t apologize. It has it all. Miso paste adds depth of flavor and velvety texture to any dish.
It seemed an obvious choice to add to mashed potatoes. So we did. And yes, miso mashed potatoes are delicious.
Ingredients
We are not potato aficionados. But we live in a country that loves this starchy tuber. The type of potato we buy and use for our miso mashed potatoes are called “frieslanders.” They seem pretty similar to Yukon Golds with very thin yellow skins. And when we lived in the US that was our go-to potato.
We use and recommend white miso paste for this recipe. It’s milder and smoother than the red variety.
Recipe tips
We buy our potatoes at our nearby market direct from a potato farmer. They have so many types we’ve never heard of, it’s quite fun to look at them. This also means they come with a thick layer of dirt. All of this to say, wash your potatoes well.
After the intense scrub, we cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and start them off in cold water to bring slowly to a boil.
Our miso potatoes recipe necessitates a good garlic paste. If you have one of those garlic presses, use it. We don’t, so we take the tiny bit of extra time to turn the minced garlic into a paste by running the knife over it on our cutting board with salt.
Once the potatoes are cooked (after boiling for about 15-20 minutes) it’s time to smash them up with the rest of your ingredients. We always reserve some of the cooking water of whatever we’re making – pasta, potatoes, whatever – just in case we need some later on. So do that now.
Then pour the water out and leave the potatoes in the pot (not over a flame). You can drain the potatoes into a colander first if preferred, but you’re working with a relatively small amount of potatoes so we think it’s easy enough to just pour the water out.
Zest the lemon directly into the hot potatoes. Then add the garlic paste, miso paste, milk, and butter. Then mash it all together!
We mash them with a potato masher only for a little while before switching to a spoon to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
If the potatoes are too dry for your liking, add a touch of the reserved water until they reach your desired consistency.
We must disclose that we prefer our potatoes roughly smashed instead of entirely mashed. We like lumps! If you prefer yours super creamy and smooth or even whipped, you will likely need to add more butter and/or milk and/or cooking water.
The last step to making delicious miso butter mashed potatoes is to toss in the green onions and crack as much black pepper as you want. Though those are often toppings for us, we like to mix them into this dish. The onions especially add some nice texture.
Eet smakelijk!
Miso Mashed Potatoes
Miso mashed potatoes are rich and delicious comfort food. Try our twist on a classic side dish for dinner tonight.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound potatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic plus 1 pinch of salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 Tbsp white miso paste
- 3 Tbsp milk (or reserved cooking water)
- 1 Tbsp butter
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 green onion
Instructions
- Scrub all the dirt off your potatoes. Cut them into 1-inch pieces. Put them in a small pot and cover by at least 1 inch with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil.
- Mince the garlic; sprinkle with a pinch of salt and turn it into a paste by running your knife back and forth over it.
- If the potatoes are boiling too violently, turn the heat down a touch. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Reserve a couple ladelfuls of the starchy cooking water. Pour water out and leave potatoes in the pot (not over heat).
- Add garlic paste, lemon zest, miso paste, milk, and butter. Mash together. If the potatoes are too dry for your liking, add a touch of the reserved water until they reach your desired consistency.
- Crack as much black pepper as you want and toss in the green onions and mix everything together.
Notes
- The type of potato we buy and use for our miso mashed potatoes are called "frieslanders." They have very thin yellow skins and seem similar to Yukon Golds.
- After an initial mash with a proper potato masher, we switch to a spoon because we find it easier and more effective.