Do the mashed potato

Some twelve years back, I listened on NPR radio to a little anecdote about a man who discovered some buffet in New York, and this mashed potato that was so delicious he had to ask the cook what's in it. The cook told him, but didn't specify the proportions. The anecdote ended with the man noting the cook was from Afghanistan or Pakistan, I don't remember, and that if he was ever deported or if he ever returned home, he'd seriously consider emigrating.

Last night I decided to try replicate that recipe. I dropped maybe half a dozen potatoes in a pot of cold water with maybe a tablespoon of kosher salt to boil, dipped a leek in boiling water for a few minutes, and rehydrated maybe half a cup of sundried tomatoes prior to chopping them. When the potatoes were ready I mashed them in the pot, chopped up the leeks and tomatoes and mixed them in, added maybe a teaspoon of cumin, a little more kosher salt, and fresh-cracked pepper. And, for good measure, half a cup of heavy cream and half a stick of butter.

Not bad at all. Slightly tart from the sundried tomatoes, a kind of Indian hint thanks to the cumin, and the heady scent of leeks. I don't know about emigrating to Pakistan or Afghanistan, but I would like to visit, and maybe taste their potato dishes.