Green Parsley Mash

Use a potato peeler to pare off the potato skins as thinly as possible, then cut the potatoes into even-sized chunks – not too small; if they are large, quarter them, and if they are small, halve them.

Put the potato chunks in a steamer fitted over a large pan of boiling water, sprinkle 1 level dessertspoon of salt all over them, put a lid on and steam the potatoes until they are absolutely tender – they should take 20-25 minutes. The way to tell whether they are ready is to pierce them with a skewer in the thickest part: they should not be hard in the centre, and you need to be careful here, because if they are slightly underdone you do get lumps.

While the potatoes are cooking, place the parsley, with its stalks, into a small saucepan, add the milk and bring very slowly up to the gentlest simmer possible for 5 minutes or until the parsley is wilted and tender. Then place the whole lot into a liquidiser or processor and blend on a high speed until the parsley is blended into the milk and has turned it a bright green colour – 2-3 minutes – then strain it through a sieve to remove any bits of stalks and return to the pan to keep warm. When the potatoes are tender, remove them from the steamer, drain off the water, return them to the saucepan and cover with a clean tea cloth for 4 minutes. Then, using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed, start to mash the potatoes, then increase the speed of the whisk and gradually add the parsley milk and a good seasoning of salt and freshly milled black pepper. Whisk until the mash is light and fluffy.