Sous Vide: Getting Started Class

Kyl Haselbauer has 20 years of experience working in fine-dining and modernist kitchens, including Bar Cotto and Anchovies &amp; Olives in Seattle. He is also the owner of Bright Spot, a café and coffee shop in Seattle.

Kyl Haselbauer

3-quart Saucepan

Fingerling potatoes

Kosher salt

Butter

Heavy cream

Chives

Black pepper

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine cleaned potatoes and salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally and making sure potatoes remain fully submerged, until potatoes are tender and offer little resistance when poked with a cake tester or paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat and strain. Return potatoes to saucepan.

Boil potatoes

Working quickly while potatoes are still hot, add heavy cream and butter to saucepan. Using a fork, mash potatoes until broken down to a mostly smooth consistency with some bite-size pieces of potato, butter is fully melted and emulsified, and cream is fully incorporated. 

Take care not to overwork the potatoes while mashing; once you achieve the desired consistency, put down the fork. If serving right away, proceed to next step.

Mash potatoes with cream and butter

When ready to serve, add chives and gently fold with a silicone spatula until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Fold in chives and serve

If making potatoes in advance to serve the same day: Prepare through step 2 and hold warm in a covered 3-quart saucepan for up to 2 hours before serving. Reheat gently on stovetop before proceeding to step 3. 

If making potatoes days in advance: Prepare through step 2, transfer to a 1-gallon, ziplock-style bag, and press to distribute potatoes in an even, flat layer. Allow to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for up to 1 week. Reheat gently with an additional 30 g heavy cream, either in a saucepan or in a [f 150] sous vide bath, before proceeding to step 3.

Make-ahead and storage

Smashed potatoes are delicious and easy to make and hard to mess up: boil some spuds, mash ’em with a fork, and mix in some dairy and fat and you’ve got an excellent side dish for almost any meal. Great smashed potatoes, however, are just as easy to make, and all they require is some attention to detail. First, pick the right kind of potatoes; second, cook them with a little precision; third, incorporate some good butter and cream; finally, glam them up a bit with some finely sliced chives. The result is an everyday staple, all glowed up. We use fingerling potatoes because they taste great and have a creamy cooked texture, but they aren’t too starchy. Since their skins are relatively thin, you don’t even have to peel them; just give them a good scrub, simmer them until they’re fork tender. Once drained, all you have to do is mash them roughly with a fork, mash in the butter and cream, then fold in the sliced chives.

Creamy Smashed Potatoes