Mashed Potatoes With Lavender and Honey

November 22, 2008.   2 Comments.   Categories Fabulous Side Dishes, Thanksgiving Dinner, Vegetarian.  

Mashed Potatoes With Lavender and Honey

The beauty of mashed potatoes is you can add almost any flavor to them to create a different spin on the classic recipe.  Lavender is one of my favorite scents and I believe I got this idea from an aromatherapy book about 10 years ago.  I haven’t made these in a long time.  I was reminded how good they are by a blogger on Twitter who mentioned having something similar in France.
Lavender can be strong, so you should experiment with the quantity so they aren’t more potent than you’d like.  Other variations could include Olive Oil, Herbs de Provence and baked or roasted apples or pears.  Just play around and have fun with trying something new while making this classic side dish.
Ingredients:
– 10 lbs of mealy potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russets)
– Culinary lavender (Provence variety works well)
– 1 stick butter (or more if needed)
– 1/2 cup – heavy cream, heated lightly over low heat (or more if needed)
– Honey (couple of teaspoons)
Cut potatoes into quarters and be sure to leave the skin on. Boil potatoes in salted water (sea salt is best) for approximately 20 minutes or until soft.  Don’t boil too long or they will get watery.  Drain in a colander and then return them to the pan and lightly shake the potatoes over low heat until they are dry.  Crush the lavender in your fingers – it’s better than using a spice mill.  
In a mixing bowl combine boiled potatoes, butter and lavender. Whip using a hand mixer or KitchenAid (no blenders!) After potatoes are well blended, begin adding heated heavy cream one tablespoon at time to get desired consistency.  Add small amount of honey to taste. Continue whipping with mixer.  I like them firm but whipped.  Add more cream during whipping to get desired consistency.  It’s best if you serve them pipping hot as soon as they are done.  The longer they sit, the less they lose that initial freshly made flavor.