Mediterranean Mashed Potatoes

Post-Thanksgiving week, which belongs to soup and quiet and the long slow recovery from the year. James and Dorothy stayed through the weekend and left Sunday morning. Dorothy asked before she left if she could take some tomato preserves. I said yes, obviously, take as many as you want. She took two jars and then said, actually can I take a third. I said take four. She said, Loretta, I don't want to clean you out. I said, Dorothy, I have nine jars of tomato preserves and a full pantry and I grow the tomatoes every summer specifically to have too many. Take the four. She took four and packed them in her bag with the care you give things you will think about every time you open them.

The December expanded Bernice's Table services start next Tuesday, which Deontay has organized and is running. I am on the team but not leading it, which is the right arrangement and which has taken me two years to fully accept. Being useful in a supporting role is its own discipline and it is not a diminishment. I know this. I am practicing it. The practice gets easier.

Caleb said something this week that CJ texted me: he and Caleb were looking at the photograph of Marcus on the wall and CJ said Grandpa Marcus, and Caleb looked at the photograph and then looked at CJ and said something that CJ wrote as close to Marcus as he can get right now. CJ said, he knows his grandfather. I said, Caleb has always known his grandfather. He came into this family knowing. That is what family is: the knowledge you arrive with before you have language for it.

James and Dorothy left Sunday and by Monday the house had gone soft and still, the way it does when you’ve been cooking for people and suddenly you’re only cooking for yourself. I wanted something warm and present — not a project, not a production, just something that required my hands and rewarded them. These Mediterranean Mashed Potatoes have been my answer to that particular need for years: enough olive oil and garlic to feel like a real thing, simple enough to make without thinking too hard, the kind of dish that sits beside whatever else you have going and makes everything feel like it belongs together.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup warm whole milk or vegetable broth
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Boil the potatoes. Place potato chunks in a large pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook for 18—22 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a fork. Drain well and return to the pot.
Warm the oil and garlic. While the potatoes cook, warm the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic and cook gently for 1—2 minutes, stirring, just until fragrant and softened but not browned. Remove from heat.
Mash the potatoes. Using a potato masher or ricer, mash the drained potatoes until smooth. Pour in the warm garlic olive oil and the warm milk or broth. Stir and mash together until creamy and well combined. Add more liquid a tablespoon at a time if you prefer a looser texture.
Add the Mediterranean flavors. Fold in the crumbled feta, chopped Kalamata olives, parsley, dried oregano, and lemon juice. Stir gently so the feta stays in small pieces rather than fully melting in. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Finish and serve. Transfer to a serving bowl, make a shallow well in the center, and drizzle generously with additional extra-virgin olive oil. Garnish with a little extra parsley and a pinch of oregano if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mediterranean Mashed Potatoes — Comfort Food for the Quiet Week After