Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes (Lidia Bastianich) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb yukon gold potatoes or 1 lb idaho potato, scrubbed but unpeeled
salt
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh ground pepper, preferably white

Preparation

Pour enough water over the potatoes in a large pot to cover them by three fingers.
Season the water with salt; bring to a boil.
Cook until the potatoes are tender but still hold their shape, 15-30 minutes, depending on the size and shape of the potatoes.
Drain potatoes and let stand until cool enough to handle.
Peel potatoes and pass them through a ricer or food mill fitted with the fine disk.
Gently stir in the olive oil and season them to taste with salt and pepper; serve hot.
*Garlic Mashed Potatoes: heat the olive oil in a small skillet over med-low heat; slice three peeled garlic cloves, scatter them over the oil and cook, shaking the pan, until light brown, about 2 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and cool to room temperature before adding to the riced potatoes.
*Anchovy Mashed Potatoes: heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small skillet over med-low heat; add 2 anchovy fillets and cook, breaking them up, until they are dissolved.
Remove from heat, pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and cool to room temperature; beat the anchovy oil into the mashed potatoes.