Every time I make
mashed potatoes or, really, any
potato dish at all, I think of a wonderful woman whom I had known all of my
life, Betty Pitliangas, who passed away last summer. She was like a second
mother to me, so the loss was particularly hard. Betty loved potatoes in any
form. “Potatoes,” she would tell me, “are my favorite vegetable.” So I made
sure that whenever I had her over for dinner I'd fix some potato dish that was
really special. Last night I thought about her when I whipped up this company
worthy version of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. Betty was a great
experimenter in the kitchen, and with my first bite I knew this was a dish of
which she would heartily approve. It makes a tasty side dish, particularly
with beef. It also served as an excellent base for the leftover Swedish
Meatballs that I served on
top. Mr. O-P is not at all a fan of mashed potatoes, but gobbled these right up.
Rustic Mashed Potatoes
with Caramelized Onions
1 medium onion,
thinly sliced (I used a mandolin)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon malt
vinegar (lacking this, you can use cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon
granulated sugar
1/3 cup cream
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly
ground black pepper, to taste
In a 9” saute pan,
melt butter. Add thinly sliced onion and cook over medium high heat, stirring
occasionally, until they become soft. Stir in the vinegar and sugar and
continue to cook over medium heat until they have caramelized. While the onions
are cooking, halve the potatoes and place them in a 2-quart saucepan and cover
with water. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and cook until fork tender,
25-30 minutes. It helps to time things so that both onions and potatoes are
ready at the same time, but if the onions get done beforehand, just turn off
the heat and leave them on the warm burner.
When potatoes are
fork tender, drain them, and return to the warm burner to allow for evaporation
of excess water, a minute or so. You'll see a lot of steam come up during this
process. Warm the milk and cream, and mash the potatoes in your preferred
method, adding the melted butter and cream to yield a creamy texture. Fold in
the caramelized onions and serve immediately.
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