Dirty Mash

Does anyone have the time to peel potatoes?

I don't.

I love eating them in many different ways but I really can't use the peeler on them and certainly not a knife. I have until now blamed this on my left-handedness, but with hindsight and a bit of maturity I think it may be something to do with prioritisation...

Would I rather peel potatoes or stroke my cat/read my book/walk my imaginary dog/poke around in my garden/read Grazia magazine/recharge my ipod/fill my car with petrol (god I love the smell of petrol)/water my chilli plants/take pointless photos on my mobile phone/count the spiders' webs in my kitchen/stroke my cat etc. etc.?

When I really really do have to peel them for a special recipe I'll usually boil them in their skins and then use my asbestos fingers to peel them while they're hot. That's how I make my tortillas. And very tasty they are too. Or so my imaginary friend Pablo says.

But the thing I eat most often is dirty mash. You just find some lovely small and waxy potatoes, put them in cold water with lots and lots of rock salt and bring them to the boil and cook them for 15 minutes. Then you get one of those appliances that is like a mouli (my one is called a potato ricer) and squeeze them through. It is really quick and very satisfying and all you have to do is to clear the really bad debris from the holey round disc now and then. A few pieces of potato skin really won't make any difference and in fact a few bits here and there will add lots of flavour to your lovely mash.

Then you add butter and milk (heated for best results) and lots of salt and pepper. Whip it all up with a rubber spatula. Then the fun starts tasting it for seasoning. I have realised that I have to make twice as much as any recipe states because I always end up eating half of the quantity getting it seasoned properly. But is it worth it? Of course it is. And it's fun because it's dirty mash and good clean fun was always one of those concepts that doesn't quite work in reality, n'est-ce pas?