Buttery Mashed Potato

Put the potato pieces in a large pan and pour over the 2 litres of cold water, which should cover them by about 3cm.

Start them in cold water rather than boiling. Potatoes dropped into a boiling pan cook from the outside in, and the edges are already collapsing into the water by the time the centres are done.

Stir in the 16g of fine salt.

Bring the pan to a boil, then turn it down to a steady simmer.

Cook for 18-22 minutes, until a knife slides into a piece and the piece falls off the blade under its own weight.

Drain the potatoes in a colander.

Return them to the empty pan over the lowest heat.

Shake the pan every 30 seconds for 2-3 minutes, until the steam has stopped and the surfaces look floury and dry.

Do not skip the drying. Wet potato needs far more butter and milk before it tastes of anything, and past a point it simply turns to soup.

Warm the milk in a small pan until it steams, and keep it hot.

Pass the potatoes through a ricer or a mouli into a warm bowl.

Never use a food processor or a stick blender. The blades tear the starch granules open and release free starch, and the mash turns to grey glue inside ten seconds with no way back.

Beat in the butter a few cubes at a time with a spatula, waiting for each addition to melt before the next goes in.

Keep the butter ahead of the milk. Fat coats the starch first and holds the mash smooth when the liquid arrives; milk first gives a wetter, stickier mash for the same weight of both.

Pour in the hot milk in three additions, folding rather than beating.

Stop when the mash slumps slowly off the spoon and holds a soft peak.

Season with the nutmeg and the ground white peppercorns.

Taste and add fine salt.

Serve hot in a warm dish, since mash stiffens as it cools and a cold bowl sets it on contact.

Loosen anything that has been standing with a splash more hot milk, stirring as little as you can.

Serve it under something with sauce to spare. The slow-braised beef shin in this collection is what it is for.