Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update
Healthy Tips and Recipes for Institutions
Volume VIII, Number 1 Winter 1999/2000
INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT:
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are surely one of the most popular and versatile lunch and
dinner menu items. Prepared from scratch or made from a mix, mashed potatoes
can be served as a side dish or part of an entrée and used as an
ingredient for soups and entrées.
Mashed potatoes can be comforting or trendy, low fat or completely sinful,
vegetarian or vegan, depending on the chef. Wolfgang Puck made rosemary mashed
potatoes popular and Oprah Winfrey’s restaurant featured unpeeled,
horseradish mashed potatoes. At Leona Yarbrough Restaurant, Fairway, KS,
1500 pounds of potatoes are mashed every week and Phillips Flagship Restaurant,
Washington, DC, produce 500 pounds weekly.
Vertical choppers, electric mixers, immersion blenders, food processors,
and of course, hands can all be used to produce mashed potatoes, depending
on the quantity desired. Machines get all the lumps out, but if not used
carefully can produce more of a purée than a mash.
From-scratch mashed potatoes can be made with starchy potato varieties (such
as russets or bakers) so they absorb liquid and can be whipped into fluffiness.
Liquid can include hot soy or rice milk, melted margarine, puréed
tofu, unflavored soy yogurt, olive oil, water reserved from the potato cooking
(be sure the potatoes were thoroughly cleaned if you’re doing this),
and vegetable stock.
Peel on, peel off, or a combination of the two is your choice. If leaving
the peel on, you might want to throw in some red, gold, or purple potatoes
for a conversation piece.
There are many mashed potato mixes commercially available. For vegan potatoes,
carefully read the ingredient line, as there may be dairy products (butter,
casein, whey, and/or milk solids) added for texture. If possible, purchase
mixes that have Vitamin C added (this is actually done to prevent oxidation
or browning, but gives the added dividend of sneaking in some nutrition).
Mash potatoes while hot, and be sure to add hot liquid to both scratch and
mix potatoes. The heat encourages the potatoes to absorb liquid, so you’ll
get a fluffy, moister product. Whip to fluffiness and season according to
the accompanying dishes.
Potatoes don’t have to do a solo act. They can be mashed with cooked
sweet potatoes or yams, carrots, turnips, rutabagas (potatoes and rutabagas
are usually mashed together to take the edge off the rutabagas spiciness),
winter squash, and celery root. Sautéed veggies, such as fennel, onion,
garlic, mushrooms and cabbage can be added for flavor and texture. Seasonings
such as grated horseradish, thyme, sage, oregano, basil, chili powder, and
curry powder can add some "zing."
For a lower fat version, use non- or low-fat soy milk, defatted vegetable
or mushroom stock or cooking water. Be sure to add seasonings to adjust for
the flavor you took out with the fat.
Mashed potatoes can be served on their own as a side dish, seasoned or plain.
If using russets, save the potato shells, stuff prepared mashed potatoes
in them, top with onions, garlic, and mushrooms, and bake for a twice-baked
potato. Add breadcrumbs and minced veggies and fry or bake for potato pancakes.
Alternate layers of seasoned cooked beans and mashed potatoes for a vegan
shepherd’s pie. Prepare potato chowder by thinning mashed potatoes with
soy milk and adding chunked veggies, corn, and more potatoes (in chunks).
We could go on and on. Here are some mix and match mashed potato ideas for
you:
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Mashed potato pie: mix mashed white and sweet potatoes with cooked, mashed
winter squash. Season with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and bake in pie shell.
-
Cruciferous mashed: add cooked, minced broccoli or cauliflower to mashed
potatoes made from mix (for that lumpy look and more nutrition).
-
What’s Up, Doc: add carrot purée (cook carrots and purée
in blender) to mashed potatoes for a golden, sweet side dish.
-
Potato croquettes: mix mashed potatoes with breadcrumbs, minced, sautéed
garlic and onions and form into croquettes. Bake until golden and serve with
béchamel sauce (see Foodservice Hotline in this issue).
-
Potato frijoles: mix mashed potatoes with mashed beans, season with chilies
and bake as a casserole or croquette. Serve with salsa and steamed corn.
-
Potatoes Wellington: place seasoned mashed potatoes in pastry and bake as
an individual serving or as a "roast" to be sliced. Add chopped, sautéed
veggies between the potatoes and the pastry for extra flavor. Serve with
a veloute (see Foodservice Hotline in this issue) or mushroom sauce.
-
Mashed Italienne: season mashed potatoes with dried oregano, basil and parsley,
combine with seasoned breadcrumbs and bake as individual patties. Serve with
a garlic-tomato sauce.
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Mashed sweets: mash sweet potatoes with melted margarine, mashed, drained
canned pineapple, cinnamon, ginger, and mace. Bake to heat. Top with chopped
nuts and citrus sections.
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Mashed a la Swede: mix mashed potatoes and mashed rutabagas (prepare mashed
rutabagas just like potatoes) together using cooking water from rutabagas
and melted margarine. Season with white pepper, top with sautéed onions,
and bake to heat.
Excerpts from the Winter 1999/2000
Issue:
-
Veggie Rule of Thumb
-
Foodservice Hotline and Vegan Entrée
Ideas
-
Vegan Products for Food Service & Quantity Recipes
For the complete issue, please subscribe to the magazine. To
subscribe to Vegetarian Journal's
Foodservice Update, click here
and check "Add 1 year Foodservice Update for $10 more" on whatever
subscription form you choose.
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