Mushroom and Thyme Mashed Potatoes
Last night I had fresh mushrooms that needed to be used up so as not to toss them out and waste food. My husband had requested mashed potatoes to accompany our planned dinner of Spice Rubbed Baked Chicken Thighs and Steamed Broccoli with butter. I had to think of something the mushrooms would go in. I couldn’t mentally taste them with the chicken and definitely not with the broccoli. Then the thought of adding them to the potatoes crossed my mind, a little weird, I know. They actually turned out delicious and very simple to make.
Since I am lactose intolerant, I don’t use milk with my mashed potatoes, I actually drain the water off the potatoes after they’ve boiled and then incorporate it back in while mashing to create smooth mashed potatoes. I had some chicken broth that needed to be used as well, so I used the chicken broth to boil the potatoes in and added enough water to cover them. Then I tossed in some fresh sprigs of thyme to boil along with potatoes. After the potatoes were soft enough, I drained the cooking juices into a measuring cup, removed the stems from the thyme and then mashed the potatoes along with the mushrooms that I had browned.
Below is the recipe. I made a double batch so we would have enough for our lunches the next day.
Mushroom and Thyme Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 Medium Red Potatoes skins on
- 2 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Cup Fresh Mushrooms
- 2-3 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 5 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Wash the red potatoes thoroughly and cut into even chunks. I usually cut mine in quarters.
- Add the potatoes into a a 2.5 quart sauce pan ( or larger).
- Add the chicken broth and water to just covering the potatoes.
- Add the Fresh Thyme.
- Bring potatoes to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Simmer for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- While the potatoes are simmering, Place 1 Tbsp butter in a small sauce pan on Medium High heat. Once the butter is hot, add the mushrooms and stir well. Then let the mushrooms sit for about 1-2 minutes before stirring again.
- Once the mushrooms have browned, remove them from the heat.
- Drain the cooking juices from the potatoes into a heat resistant measuring cup and place to the side.
- Carefully remove the leftover stems from the Fresh Thyme. The leaves will have fallen off as the potatoes boiled.
- Add the potatoes to a mixing bowl. Add the Browned Mushrooms.
- Use either a potato masher ( our favorite for a more chunky mashed potato ) or a hand mixer and begin mashing the potatoes and mushrooms.
- Add the remaining 4 TBSP of butter and continue to mash the potatoes.
- Slowly add enough of the chicken broth/water mix back into the potatoes until you reach the desired consistency.
- Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
- Serve warm and enjoy