The Best Side Dishes
Let’s talk side dishes! There are so many to choose from, and they all have their individual merits. We love vegetables, so any kind of salad or roasted veggie is right up our street. However, being Danish, we are extremely biased towards any type of potato dish. We love flødekartofler (Danish scalloped potatoes), hasselbackspotatis (Swedish Hasselback potatoes), and the absolute classic of all classics – boiled potatoes. There’s just something about the simplicity of a potato and how well it pairs with almost any main dish! Today’s recipe is for perhaps the best of the potato dishes (a contentious statement, to be sure) – kartoffelmos, or mashed potatoes.
Potatoes and Scandinavia
Potatoes are a staple of Scandinavian cuisine, and have been for hundreds of years. They are easily grown in the land and climate of the Nordic countries, which makes them a very accessible crop that pretty much anyone can grow in their backyard. Historically, they are a crop that have protected many people from famine, as they contain plenty of nutrients, like starch, protein, and vitamins. Additionally, they pair extremely well with the many meats and fishes of traditional Scandinavian cuisine. Now, they are an absolutely essential part of traditional Scandi-cooking. Mashed, boiled, fried, baked, or roasted – we’ll take them any way we can get them!
Is There a Wrong Way to Enjoy Kartoffelmos?
The answer is no. It’s all about preference! We are kartoffelmos purists, so we prefer ours with butter, milk, cream, salt and pepper, and mashed to a pretty smooth consistency. A few lumps of boiled potato are fine with us, but undercooked potatoes are a big no no. Otherwise, add whatever you like! If you like garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, feel free to add some roasted garlic and rosemary. If you want to add sour cream and cheese, go for it. We aren’t here to preach the correct way to do things, because there is no correct way! This is just our recipe and one of our absolute favorite side dishes, and we hope you try it out. If you do, leave us a comment and review down below!
Kartoffelmos (Mashed Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 2.2 kg (5 lbs) potatoes (about 12 medium potatoes)
- 70 grams (5 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk
- 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into 1 inch, equal sized pieces.
- Add to a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil; boil for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft and a knife or fork goes through a piece of potato with no resistance.
- When the potatoes are almost ready, heat up milk, butter, and cream on the stove until the butter melts. Turn off the heat and set aside until ready to add to the potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes.
- If you have a ricer, pass the potatoes through the ricer. If not, you can mash using a masher or even a large fork – whatever you have works! Now is also a good time to add some salt to the potatoes.
- Add the milk mixture a bit at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
- Keep the potatoes warm until you’re ready to serve – use as a delicious side for any meal! Enjoy!
