The steak gets the applause, but the mash decides the night. Get it right — silky, buttery, faintly perfumed with truffle — and the side dish quietly becomes the thing everyone goes back for. We have watched a bowl of this outshine a very expensive rib eye, and we felt only pride.

Two Margaret River Truffle Farm products do the perfuming: truffle oil folded in off the heat, and truffle salt for seasoning. Off the heat matters — truffle aroma is delicate, and a hot stove flattens it. Add it at the end and it stays. Two teaspoons is the sweet spot — present in every forkful, shouting in none. That’s the entire technique; everything else is just making very good mash.

The other secret is the potato. Floury varieties — royal blue, king edward — collapse into silk. Waxy ones fight back. And never, ever the food processor, unless wallpaper paste is the goal. A ricer is the one gadget worth owning here, and salt the cooking water properly — season the potato, not just the finish.

What you need

1 kg floury potatoes (royal blue or king edward), peeled and cut into even chunks
150 ml full-cream milk, warmed
100 g cold butter, cubed
2 tsp truffle oil
Truffle salt and white pepper

Method

Start the potatoes in cold, well-salted water, bring to a simmer and cook 15–20 minutes until completely tender.
Drain well, then return to the hot pot for two minutes to steam-dry — wet potatoes make wet mash, and no amount of butter can rescue it.
Mash thoroughly, or pass through a ricer for the restaurant finish.
Beat in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, then the warm milk, until glossy.
Off the heat, fold through the truffle oil and season with truffle salt and white pepper.
Serve immediately, under or beside something seared.

Steak-night companions from the same farm: truffle mustard on the board, or truffle aioli if chips are also attending. Both keep for months in the pantry, which means steak night can happen the moment the butcher cooperates.