Make Mashed Potatoes Italian-Style With Just A Dash Of This Spice

Sticking to the same mashed potato recipe for years, even decades, is good, but it also starts to feel less exciting with time. If you resonate with that, it's time to bring an Italian flair to this classic side dish. We don't mean adding mozzarella or stirring basil through your spuds. No, it's all about nutmeg. Just a pinch gives mashed potatoes a warm, sweet depth that cuts through the richness of the butter and cream in a way that's a little hard to identify once it's stirred in. In short, it makes the whole dish feel more layered.

You may be thinking that doesn't sound very Italian, but it is. In America, nutmeg is most known for its role in sweet dishes, such as in pumpkin pie, eggnog, and custard, but it also has a broad history in savory cooking, especially in Italian cuisine. It appears in dairy-heavy recipes, such as crespelle alla Fiorentina, a baked pancake filled with spinach and ricotta, or in stuffed pasta dishes with creamy sauces. This spicy little nut also has a long-standing place in béchamel, one of the five French mother sauces. In Italy, nutmeg has earned its place in "purè di patate" (mashed potatoes), which is rich and soft in ways similar to béchamel or creamy pastas. Adding it is a great mashed potato tip if you want to make an impressive side dish with little extra effort.

Nutmeg is a potent little spice. Too much can quickly leave your mashed potatoes tasting bitter and overwhelming, almost perfumed. Stick to a small pinch, stir so the spice is evenly distributed rather than landing in one concentrated pocket, taste, and decide if it needs more. If it feels like you overdid it, warm food can sometimes make tastes seem more pronounced at first, but the flavor may settle down. It should still taste like mashed potatoes, creamy and savory, but with a subtle warmth in the background.

Ground nutmeg does the trick, but grating fresh nutmeg is particularly good here. Ground nutmeg may lose its intensity once the spice is exposed to air for too long, but you can easily grate a whole nutmeg nut directly over warm potatoes instead, once the milk and cream has been added. Just a few light strokes over a fine grater or microplane should be enough to add a lovely new aroma to your usual mashed potato recipe.