Fiddle Version Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

When Nirasha first told me she made Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes for the special at her restaurant, Billie's, they didn't sound that appealing to me. She told me they were a Southern thing that she learned to make from her family in Kentucky. Then I started thinking more about it: I love sour cream in baked potatoes, I also love sour cream and horseradish in mashed potatoes and I also love goat cheese mashed potatoes. So I thought I better give them a try. THEY WERE FABULOUS!! I was instantly addicted and had to come home and make them right away.

Because most people eat potatoes in a fried version, they are often maligned as an unhealthy vegetable. But potatoes actually get an A rating on the healthy vegetable scale because they are high in fiber as well as a good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium and maganese. Scientists have recently discovered that potatoes have kukoamines that help lower blood-pressure.

Buttermilk, which is actually a low-fat healthy drink that doesn't have any butter in it, got its name because it was the leftover liquid after churning butter out of cream. The fatty part solidfied into butter and the leftover was buttermilk. Now commercial buttermilk is cultured and the tartness comes from acid in the milk. Buttermilk is high in potassium, vitamin B12, calcium, riboflavin and phosphorus.

I'm not trying to bore you with all of these health details, but I'm so in love with this new tangy taste of buttermilk mashed potatoes I plan to always make them this way. If you're not trying to lose weight you may want to add a little butter. But my whole family just ate them with only the buttermilk and salt tonight and loved them! Buttermilk can be substituted for sour cream in regular baked potatoes too!

Thanks again to Nirasha for another GREAT recipe! (Nirasha said she sometimes likes to add a nutmeg to this recipe)

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Makes about 7 1-cup servings

3 pounds of russet potatoes (about 6 normal size potatoes, 4 1/2 inches long)

3 quarts water

3 teaspoons kosher salt for the water

1 1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk (start with 1 1/2 and add more if you need it)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground pepper, optional to taste

Peel potatoes and place in water. (potatoes turn black when exposed to air and it only takes once to learn this lesson the hard way! have them soak in water while you are waiting to cut them) Then quarter the peeled potatoes (I cut them down the middle first and then cut each piece in half again.)

Place cut potato pieces in a large saucepan with 3 quarts of water seasoned with 3 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. When water is boiling, turn the heat down and continue to simmer potatoes for about 20 minutes or until potatoes fall apart easily when stabbed with a fork.

Drain water off of potatoes. Mash with a hand masher or a food mill. Add in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Add another 1/2 cup of buttermilk if you'd like them to be creamier/tangier. Serve hot!

per serving: 155 calories, 0.7 g of fat, 4.7 g fiber, 5 g protein, 65% vitamin C, 6% iron, 9% calcium. 3 points

*The Points® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by Maili and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the Points® registered trademark.