Mashed Broccoli and Potatoes

I’ve been craving the comfort of a fresh loaf of bread lately. The bakery in the grocery store across the street makes things pretty easy when I want a the mood strikes [that raw honey in the pantry might have had something to do with it, too]. We made our way through a nutty and dense Sicilian whole wheat loaf, then a crunchy, light baby baguette just in the last week. There are little bits of both left downstairs hard as rocks. I was kind of hoping to make some bread crumbs out of them. Or croutons. Something.

An Everlasting Meal always has me thinking what I can repurpose my leftovers into. It’s pretty awesome.

I went with a simple meal of meat + potatoes + vegetables + bread with this one. The grill and I became fast friends, culminating in one of the best grilled steaks of my life. I picked up that rib eye from Gartner’s. It was the perfect size to split with Andrew. Gone are the days that I really need to eat a 12+oz steak all to myself. The seasoning was simple—salt and pepper. Nothing more. After letting it come to room temperature, I seared each side before letting it finish somewhere between rare and medium rare, heavy on the beautiful shade of bright pink.

Do you have a favorite potato for mashing? I rotate a lot, but I think I’d choose a Yukon gold if you twisted my arm [please don’t]. Something about that gold skin yields such a creamy and tender mashed potato. I really wanted to roast some more garlic, but instead boiled it with the broccoli and potatoes. Yes, I boiled the broccoli with the potatoes. The combination of flavors was subtle, especially after a long soak together. The broccoli retained some of it’s bite, which kind of surprised me. I expected it to get mushier way faster than the potatoes. Oh experiments. I loved it that way, wondering why I hadn’t thought of it sooner.

The best part was spooning it onto the grilled bread and drizzling it with olive oil. I almost liked it more than the steak. Almost.

Ingredients

• 1 small head of broccoli
• 1lb Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of butter [or olive oil]
• salt
• pepper

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Scrub the potatoes under cold water before cutting them into uniformly sized cubes. Wash and trim your broccoli into pieces. I like to cut the broccoli first, toss it into a colander, then rinse it. It’s easier to get into all the nooks and crannies.

Heavily salt the water, I’m talking a good couple teaspoons. I tasted it a few times until it was similar to a light sea water. When everything is a rolling boil, add the potatoes, broccoli, and garlic. Bring the temperature down so everything bubbles but not overflows. I hate babysitting the stove when there isn’t much going on.

30-40 minutes are going to pass until the potatoes and broccoli are easily pierced with a knife. For funsies, taste the water. It’s incredible how much flavor is leached into the water all because of some heat and bubbles. I save some of it to make the consistency creamier without adding milk/cream. Drain the vegetables into a colander and then pour them back into the now empty pot. Add your tablespoon of fat and mash together with a potato masher or a fork. It’s therapeutic really. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper as necessary. I love a lot of pepper. I crack a ton into it as I mash, and then even more after I serve a huge pile onto my plate.

Serve with crusty bread and olive oil. Trust me.