Spinach Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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A few weeks ago I mentioned some friends who had recently hosted a traditional Irish dinner in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  John and Kylie (ok, mostly Kylie) cooked a bunch of delicious dishes, including this gem which blew all of our minds.

Spinach Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I would never have thought to put spinach in mashed potatoes.  I would assume it would wilt or dye the potatoes green.  Turns out it makes a really beautiful, healthy dish.  And who knew it was that easy to make mashed potatoes from scratch?!?  I've always been a boxed mashed potato girl but this recipe turned me.

When I made this at home, I added garlic because I've grown up on garlic mashed potatoes.  I used a combination of garlic cloves and garlic salt.  If you'd prefer to go Au natural, just leave the garlic out.  And make sure you used red skinned potatoes, they look gorgeous with the green of the spinach!

A couple other notes... you can make this up to a day ahead of time so it's good for a dinner party or a holiday.  And if you prefer, you can use kale or any other leafy green in place of the spinach.

Happy Eating!

*****

Spinach Garlic Mashed Potatoes

1 - 3 lbs. bag of red skinned potatoes
Half a stick + 2 tbs. of butter
1 - 2 cups of buttermilk (or heavy cream)
Half an onion, finely chopped
4 gloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 bag of baby spinach (you can also use kale/other leafy greens)
Salt and pepper
Dash of garlic salt

Wash potatoes and quarter them.  Place them in a large pot and fill with water until just covered, add salt to season.  Boil potatoes until very tender, approx. 20 minutes.
 
Drain the potatoes and return the empty pot to medium heat.  Add 2 tbs of butter to the pot and saute the onion and garlic until translucent.  Add the spinach and saute until fully wilted, stirring occasionally.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the spinach is cooking down, use a hand mixer / food processor / standing mixer / good old fashion hand potato masher to mash the potatoes.  Add the half stick of butter, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in buttermilk or cream in half cup increments until desired texture is achieved (Kylie usually ends up adding at least a cup, sometimes more).

Add the mashed potatoes to the pot with the spinach, sprinkle with a dash of garlic salt and stir to combine. 

Can be made up to one day ahead of time.

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