In the most recent issue of Bon Appétit Magazine, the minute I saw this recipe I knew we had to make them. Then serendipitously, while deciding our weeks menus, The Hubs came across a Braised Asian-Style Pork Shank entree which we knew would pair well with these potatoes—and we had shanks in our freezer!
But back to those potatoes. The original serves eight, so we cut it in half for just the two of us (with leftovers). After rereading the recipe numerous times, and the fact that I’ve made mashed potatoes for decades—and am pretty darn good at them—I instinctively knew there was WAY too much butter and cream, resulting in potato soup. After I made them my way, I went back to the online comments and sure enough, many disappointed reviewers noted that fact.
For example, the BA recipe called for 1 1/2 cups heavy cream which I cut back by 2/3, to only a 1/2 cup. The butter was listed as two full sticks, cut that by at least 50% and use only one stick, or less, if making the full recipe. And I always like to use ground white pepper in my potatoes, but that’s a personal preference. Ground pepper of any kind is a must.
“A couple of spoonfuls of miso adds a little extra umami and saltiness to these spuds, a subtle bridge between the roasted garlic and dairy that nobody will quite be able to put their finger on. And yes: These potatoes are actually mashed. I’m not going to stop you from pulling out a ricer or food mill if supersmooth is your thing, but I personally like a bit of texture—a few bits of intact potato remind you that you’re actually eating, you know, potatoes.” —Brad Leone
NOTE: You can either make the garlic paste ahead (Steps 1 through 3), or if you already have some in the fridge, you are way ahead of the game. You’ll save an hour and a half on dinner day.
In the end, even with my diminished amounts of butter and cream, I still found the mash too loose, especially the reheated leftovers, so consider scaling back even more… although they were indeed delicious!
Garlic-Miso Butter Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 heads of garlic
- 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp. white or yellow miso
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 lb. medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 8 spuds)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cut ½” off top of each head of garlic to expose just the tops of the cloves inside. Place on a 12″-square piece of parchment paper or foil. Drizzle with oil and season with salt. Drizzle 1 tsp. water over.
- Bring edges of parchment up and over garlic and fold together to make a packet and seal. Place on a small rimmed baking sheet and bake until very tender, 60–75 minutes.
- Let garlic sit until cool enough to handle, then squeeze out cloves into a medium bowl. Add butter and mash together into a paste with a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula. Add miso and mix well. Season garlic-miso butter with salt and pepper; set aside.
- Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in a large pot and pour in water to cover by 1″; season generously with salt. Bring water to a boil over medium-high, then reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender (a tester or paring knife should easily slide into flesh), about 20 minutes from the time water starts to simmer. Drain potatoes and let sit 5 minutes to dry out; reserve pot.
- Bring cream to a simmer in reserved pot over medium-high. Remove from heat and return potatoes to pot. Set aside about 3 Tbsp. garlic-miso butter for serving and add remaining garlic-miso butter to pot. Using a potato masher (or use a potato ricer or food mill if you prefer a silkier texture), smash potatoes until mostly smooth; taste and season mashed potatoes with salt.
- Transfer mashed potatoes to a large shallow bowl. Top with reserved garlic-miso butter and season generously with more pepper.
Do ahead: Mashed potatoes can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill potatoes and reserved garlic-miso butter separately. Reheat potatoes over medium, stirring often and adding 1 tablespoon milk at a time to thin if needed.
Recipe loosely adapted from Brad Leone for Bon Appétit
Accounting for Taste 
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