Three cheese mash
The cheesiest mash going
Please welcome to the stage the best friend of every potato….CHEESE. And while we’re at it, let’s bring in not just one cheese, but three. A menage a trois of cheeses, lovingly caressed within a velvety smooth mash. All singing in harmony as they make sweet cheesy music with those spuds. Is anyone else feeling a bit hot under the collar? No, just me.
The secrets to the smoothest mash
Tip 1 – Slice, don’t chop
Cut your potatoes into rounds, not random cubes. It helps them cook evenly, meaning no firm bits lurking among the soft ones, which is exactly what leads to lumpy mash. Rounds = smooth and consistent.
Tip 2 – Sieve or ricer only
Once boiled, send those steam dried potatoes through a sieve or ricer. No shade to the old-school masher, but it’s simply not built for the level of creaminess or smoothness we’re trying to achieve here. A sieve is a little bit more effort I admit, but you get cloud-like, lump-free mash every single time. If you’re in a rush, grab the ricer though.
Why these three cheeses? Can I use others?
I’ve gone for a power trio: ready-grated mozzarella, mature cheddar, and red Leicester. Together they bring stretch, tang, richness, colour, and that unapologetically indulgent creamy finish. Add butter and double cream and honestly…it becomes illegal levels of luxurious. When I want an indulgent mash, I also go all out with the double cream in place of milk.
But if you’re the rebellious type:
– Swap mozzarella for Gruyère
– Swap cheddar for Comté
– Swap red Leicester for Parmesan
– Add a spoon of cream cheese for ultimate silkiness
Basically, if it melts, it belongs here. You could even melt a load more on top and finish it off under the grill. OMG how good would that be?!
Is this recipe in your book?
It is indeed! This recipe is an exclusive from The Potato Book. I know, I’m spoiling you. If you like what you see (and there are another nine recipes from the book hiding on my website), you can grab your copy of The Potato Book and dive into full potato obsession mode.
Trust me , once you make this mash, there’s no going back to “normal” mash ever again. Or you’ll at least be inspired to try my many other mash variations.
Three cheese mash
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/three-cheese-mash/
Ingredients
- 600g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2cm rounds
- 50g ready-grated mozzarella
- 50g mature cheddar, grated
- 50g red leicester, grated
- 50g butter
- 50-75ml double cream
- Salt and white pepper
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- Pop the potato slices into a saucepan of heavily salted, cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave on a gentle boil for another 20 minutes, until the slices fall off the tip of a knife. Drain in a colander.
- Put the colander back on the empty pan on the turned-off hob ring, cover the potatoes with a clean tea towel and leave them to steam-dry for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over a low heat, melt together the cheeses and butter with 50ml of the double cream. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Portion by portion, while still hot, pass the steam-dried potatoes through a sieve or potato ricer into a bowl, or mash with a potato masher.
- Fold the cream mixture into the potato while both are still hot, so they combine properly. If the mash is looking a bit thick, warm the remaining cream and add that, too. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.