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Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic

5 from 8 reader reviews
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 -8
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Ingredients

  • 1 small head garlic
  • ⅓ cup olive oil, plus extra (see note)
  • 2 strips lemon peel
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 ½ lbs (680 grams) Russet potatoes
  • 1 ½ lbs (680 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes
  • ¾ cup vegetable stock
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven (or a toaster oven) to 450°F
  • Cut the top quarter off of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Place the garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil on top and wrap it up in the foil. Roast the garlic until cloves are tender and caramelized on the top, about 45 minutes.
  • Infuse the olive oil. Pour the olive oil into a small saucepan and add the lemon peel strips, thyme, and rosemary. Bring the oil up to a light simmer over medium heat and cook for a minute. Remove from the heat and discard the herbs. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the oil for garnish, and the lemon peels if you like. Set the remaining oil in the saucepan aside.
  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Rinse the peeled and cut potatoes in a colander under cold water to wash off excess starch.
  • Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add about a teaspoon of salt to the water. Cover and place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes. A chunk should mash under a fork very easily. Drain the potatoes and return them to the warm pot to dry off completely.
  • Add the vegetable stock to the saucepan with the infused olive oil. Bring this mixture up to a simmer over medium heat.
  • Squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot with the potatoes. Add big pinches of salt and pepper. Using a masher, mash the potatoes until no big chunks remain. Pour in the hot olive oil and vegetable stock mixture. Keep using the masher or switch over to a rubber spatula to stir the olive oil and stock into the potatoes.
  • Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to the potatoes and stir. Check the potatoes for seasoning, and adjust if necessary (more salt, pepper, lemon). Serve the olive oil mashed potatoes warm with the reserved infused olive oil on top, the reserved lemon peel, and a few fresh thyme/rosemary leaves if you like.

Recipe Notes

  • I recommend using a fruity and mild olive oil; not a peppery one. I used this one and it was great! You should love the flavour of the oil on its own.
  • I know that adding lemon juice to mashed potatoes sounds weird! The acidity really perks them up though. I promise that they don’t taste overly lemony or anything.
  • I can’t stress this enough: one of the main keys to mashed potato success is using enough salt. I have you salt the potato cooking water, as well as add salt during the mashing process.
  • Yes, small potato dice cook faster. But they also get more waterlogged, which is not ideal here! The extra boiling time for big chunks is worth it.
Creamy and fluffy olive oil mashed potatoes are naturally vegan and perfect as a dairy-free side dish. No milk is needed in this flavourful mash with roasted garlic, a hint of lemon, and fresh herbs.