• By Francesca Rilotelli
• Published 10/29/2012

There are lots of recipes out there on how to make the perfect mash potato, but you can forget your Gordon Ramsays and your Lorraine Pascales, I’m pretty sure my ultimate comfort food mash is the cream of the crop!

To get started with this immense potato treat, get yourself some good quality mashing potatoes (or jackets) from the supermarket, and allow yourself around one-and-a-half jackets per person. I usually don’t peel the spuds after washing them as I think the skin adds something to the texture and taste, but if you’re not a massive fan of roughage then obviously whip them off with a peeler. Boil a full kettle and add the quartered potatoes and boiled water to a pan and pop them on a high heat.

After around 15 minutes your spuds should be softening nicely, so add a good pinch of salt to the water to get the flavour of your tatties going. Once they have softened sufficiently, drain them in a colander in the sink and return to them to the pan on a very low heat.

Now, here comes the fun bit! Start mashing your spuds aggressively in the pan and once they’ve started to crumble add a big glug of, preferably full fat, milk – continue to mash. Next, add four lumps of butter to the mix and season with more salt and pepper to balance out the dairy content!

Finally, and probably best, add a fistful of grated mature cheddar (I usually go for Cornish Cruncher if you’re asking), and mash like your life depends on it! Once the mixture is of the right consistency, al you have left to do is to serve it with a deserving meat of your choice. To be honest though, there should only really be one winner there – go out and get yourself some Cumberland sausages – they deserve one another.

About the Author : Francesca Rilotelli is writing about recipes