Fried Bacon Mashed Potatoes

This post was inspired by having the desire to update my blog, and to not go grocery shopping to do it.  I have never been a fan of crazy mashed potatoes with all sorts of junk in them, but Paula told me to do it.

Oooh potatoes

Since I was somewhat limited by the supplies I had on hand, I used bacon bits for the bacon, and dehydrated parsley instead of fresh chives in her recipe. The only real challenge here was to replace sour cream and heavy cream.  I used an old standby, silken tofu sour cream, and thinned it with unsweetened soymilk.

I also did not feel the need to place my mashed potatoes in a hollowed out loaf of bread.  That’s really just stupid.  Why would you put potatoes in bread?  They have nothing to do with each other, and are not natural dining companions.  It’s not like soup or anything.  Besides, it is wasteful, and would have required me to go to the store.

Bacon-Bits Mashed Potatoes

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 TBS Earth Balance, divided
• 1 shallot, finely minced
• 3/4 cup tofu sour cream (recipe follows)
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk
• 1/3 cup vegan Bacon Bits, such as Bacos
• 2 TBS dehydrated parsley, or 3 TBS fresh
• Salt and Pepper

1. Place the potatoes in cold salted water and bring to a boil, gently boil for 15-20 minutes, until fork tender.
2. Melt 1 TBS earth balance in a frying pan and saute shallot until tender.
3. Combine sour cream and milk, add the parsley and bacon bits to rehydrate.
4. Once potatoes are cooked, drain and mash well, I use a food mill, but whatever method you prefer is just fine.
5. Add 2 TBS melted earth balance, shallot, tofu-milk mix, and salt & pepper.
6. Mix gently until well combined

Tofu Sour Cream

• 1 12.3 ounce container of silken tofu
• 3 TBS lemon Juice
• 1 TBS neutral oil, such as canola
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until creamy and well combined.

The verdict: not too bad.  I think I will stick to regular mashed potatoes, but I could see why other people might like these.  Also, I served these with another Paula recipe, which I will write up when I have a bit more time, but just as a teaser it involved more ham tube, and everyone’s favorite: nut butter.