Boil potatoes in easy alternative to water for delicious mash

Everyone has their favourite way to make mashed potatoes, but these tricks usually involve adding ingredients in after the spuds are peeled, boiled and ready for mashing.

The usual method involves peeling and rinsing the potatoes, boiling them until they're soft enough to pierce with a fork, then mashing or whipping them until you achieve your preferred texture. Most people like to mash their potatoes with milk, butter, and spices to create a dish that's bursting with flavour. But there's another way a way to infuse the potatoes with flavour from the very start of the cooking process. Instead of boiling potatoes in water, try using chicken stock. The theory is that the potatoes will soak up all the wonderful flavours of the broth as they cook. Usually, after cooking, the potatoes would taste bland, and you need extra butter and milk to make them silky smooth, but not with this trick. If you want a more dramatic flavour profile, add some chopped onions, garlic and bay leaves to the water - just remember to remove the bay leaves before mashing.

Next, prepare the chicken stock and let it cool before adding the potatoes, ensuring they cook evenly. Although people usually add salt to the water, it isn't necessary as the stock was salty enough.

Allow the potatoes to simmer rather than boil, which also aids in even cooking. Stick a knife into a potato after about 20 minutes. If the potato slides straight off, it's ready.

Then, drain the potatoes and let them dry in their own steam for about three to five minutes, covering them with a tea towel during the steam drying process.

Once drained, melt the butter and milk and pour it over before mashing the potatoes. If you want a creamier texture and are willing to put in the effort, pass the potatoes through a sieve. Alternatively, a potato ricer can achieve similar results.

Ingredients (for two to three people)

Four to five Maris Piper potatoes

75g salted butter

50ml of milk

Two chicken stock cubes in 500ml of water

Method

After weighing the ingredients, peel and cut the potatoes into 1cm thick rounds. It's crucial to cut them this way for even cooking.