Buttery Mashed Potatoes

1. 1Put the potatoes in a large pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Starting them cold lets the inside and outside cook at the same rate; dropped into boiling water, the outsides disintegrate before the middles are done.
2. 2Simmer gently for 18–20 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance. A rolling boil knocks them apart.
3. 3Drain thoroughly, then return the potatoes to the dry hot pan and set it back over a low heat for a minute, shaking now and then. You will see steam coming off them. Drier potato takes up more butter, which is the whole objective.
4. 4Warm the milk and butter together in a small pan until the butter has melted. Cold liquid into hot potato makes the mash claggy and cools it down at the same time.
5. 5Mash with a potato ricer if you have one, or a masher. Never a food processor or blender — the blades rupture the starch cells and the result is wallpaper paste within seconds.
6. 6Beat the warm butter and milk in with a wooden spoon in three additions, waiting until each disappears before adding the next.
7. 7Season with the salt, white pepper and nutmeg if using. White pepper rather than black, purely so there are no flecks.
8. 8Serve at once, or keep warm covered over a pan of barely simmering water.

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