Garlic-Butter Mashed Potato
By Robin Tasker · Serves 4 · 30 min
protein +
EggsSalmonChicken breastCalcium & vitamin D +
Canned salmon (with bones)Sardines (with bones)Fortified oat milkOmega-3 fats +
SalmonSardinesCanned tunaThree lenses: how gentle on the gut, how nourishing, how tasty — because gentle isn't the same as healthy. How the scores work →
Smooth, buttery mash with a gentle garlic note from infused oil — no raw garlic, no onion, just comfort. The side that goes with almost everything.
Mash is one of the gentlest, most comforting things you can put on a plate — soft, low-residue and easy on the pouch. The only thing missing from a plain bowl of it is a bit of flavour.
A quick garlic butter fixes that: warm butter with a little garlic-infused oil and you get all the garlicky richness without the garlic solids. It's the mash I make under almost everything — glazed carrots, a bit of fish, a few meatballs.
Ingredients
- 700 g potato, peeled and chopped
- 40 g butter
- 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil
- 60 ml cream (or lactose-free milk)
Method
- Put the potato in a pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15–20 minutes, until very soft when poked with a knife. Drain well and let the steam die down.
- While the potato drains, gently warm the butter with the garlic-infused oil in a small pan until the butter has just melted — this is your quick garlic butter.
- Warm the cream (or lactose-free milk) in the same pan for a few seconds.
- Mash the potato until smooth, then beat in the garlic butter and warm cream a little at a time until soft and glossy. Season with salt and a little white pepper.
Gentler swaps
Garlic without the garlic: garlic-infused oil carries the flavour without the fructans in raw garlic that tend to cause wind.
Dairy: swap the cream for lactose-free milk if lactose is a problem for you — the butter still does most of the richness.
For the family
Cook once — your gentle version, plus how to pep it up for everyone else.
Make one pot of mash and serve yours first. For everyone else, beat a little grated raw garlic or a handful of chopped chives through the rest — same creamy mash, a louder finish.
Scores are modelled estimates, not medical advice. Everyone's gut is different, and tolerance changes over time. Reintroduce foods one at a time, and follow your own medical team's advice.