More than one cook in the world thinks mashed potatoes are hard–they make them too soupy, too pasty or too bland. But these butter parsley new potatoes take away all the guesswork of mashing and mixing and still bring a fresh, comforting side dish to your table–no guessing or messing necessary.
The first thing you’re probably asking yourself is “What in the world is a new potato Rach?” Well don’t worry. It’s not that big of a deal. A new potato is a freshly grown young potato (ideally from your garden if you have one). These new potatoes have very tender, almost translucent skin that’s easy to leave intact while these boil and you can eat them without ever noticing they’re there.
And their flavor…totally different than anything you may have ever had before. Mild, super tender, and perfectly paired with classic southern sides like a big platter of fried green tomatoes, fried chicken and corn on the cob.
If you can’t get new potatoes, any small potato with a tender skin will work. I don’t recommend using your big fat russet baking potatoes here. Keep them as small as you can and red or white both work fine.
In my garden I have white this year but I’ll be honest–nothing replaces a red potato for me.
The trick to these is that they need to be cooked until they are very soft. Not so soft that they are totally mushy, but pretty soft. So that once you drain away the majority of the water and add your parsley and butter, the stirring action makes the potatoes really velvety and smooth.
I guess because they’re coated in a little bit of the other potatoes that got mashed up along the way. As a kid, my mama always left a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water in the bottom of the pot and once the butter melted, that was my favorite part to eat–all those lingering super soft squished potatoes, the fresh parsley…it’s the best.
Please don’t skip out here and used dry parsley. It will be a shame. There will be tears.
Do go to the trouble of buying a bunch of fresh parsley at the store–it’s the best 80 cents you’ll spend on a meal all week. Chop it fine and use a big hunk of real butter (I’m all about eating food I can pronounce) and plenty of salt. Taste them as you go to get the seasoning right.
Because an under-seasoned potato is another reason to mourn.
So get out your big bowl and a spoon and get ready to dive in to the best of summer potatoes. They are sure to satisfy.
Butter Parsley New Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds new red or white potatoes washed, scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes if they are large
- 1 teaspoon salt divided in half
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the salt and bring to a boil.
- Cover slightly with a lid (if you cover it totally the pot will boil over) and cook gently until the potatoes are very fork tender--about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes.
- Drain away the water, leaving about 3 tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pot. Place the potatoes back in the pot and set it back on the hot burner with the heat off.
- Add the butter, remaining salt and parsley. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Add pepper, bacon, cheese or any additional ingredients if you choose.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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