Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 kg potatoes
• 200 ml milk
• 200 ml mayonnaise
• 100 g cheese
• garlic powder
• 12-16 strips bacon
• butter
• 3-4 green onions
• black pepper
• salt

Method

Cut the potatoes into 3–4 cm pieces — uniform size matters, so they finish cooking at the same moment. Boil them in salted water until completely tender; a knife should slide through without resistance. This takes 20–30 minutes depending on size and variety. Drain thoroughly in a colander and return to the hot pot to evaporate residual moisture. Dry potatoes accept fat and liquid better and won't turn gluey during mashing.

While the potatoes cook, render the bacon low and slow until the fat is transparent and the meat is crisp but not brittle. This takes 8–10 minutes. Set it on paper towel to drain — you want the grease rendered out, not sitting in the finished dish. Warm the milk and mayonnaise together (they emulsify better at temperature), and finely grate the cheese so it melts into the potatoes rather than clumping.

Mash the hot potatoes with a ricer or mouli — not a blender, which will overwork the starch and turn them into cement. Add the warm milk-mayonnaise mixture, a knob of butter (start with 50g, taste as you go), and half the bacon. Fold these in gently at first, then beat until the texture is smooth and airy. The creaming action — folding fat into starch — is what lifts the dish beyond stodge. Taste. Season with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. The mayonnaise already carries salt and fat, so go cautious on both.

Fold in the cheese last so it doesn't break down under prolonged heat. Finish with the remaining bacon and chopped green onion — both are textural counterpoint to the soft base. Serve straight away. Reheated mashed potatoes are pasty and separate; make them to order whenever possible.