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Potato purée
The French have fond childhood memories of this, and while nothing will ever be as good as "Maman" made, here's a fairly straightforward way to make it.
263 K 4.3/5 (36 reviews)683573
Last modified on: October 22th 2026
1 kg 
125 g 
125 g 
Times for this recipe
Preparation
50 min.
Cooking
45 min.
All in all
1 hour 35 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Step 1 - ⌛ 40 min.
Wash 1 kg potatoes but don't peel them. Put on to boil in a large pan of lightly-salted water.
The potatoes are cooked when a knife blade goes through them easily.
The potatoes are cooked when a knife blade goes through them easily.
Step 2 - ⌛ 2 min.
Remove them from the water as soon as they are cooked (don't leave them to cool in the water, they might take on an unpleasant taste).
Step 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove any small blemishes (the "eyes" of the potato).
Step 4 - ⌛ 15 min.
Cut into pieces and pass through a vegetable mill using the finest setting.
If you don't have a vegetable mill, use a potato masher (a sort of grid on a handle), but it's hard work.
If you don't have a vegetable mill, use a potato masher (a sort of grid on a handle), but it's hard work.
Step 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Put the mashed potatoes in a pan.
Step 6 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stir constantly over low heat for 4 or 5 minutes to dry the purée.
This is to improve the texture.
This is to improve the texture.
Step 7 - ⌛ 3 min.
Then add 125 g butter cut into small pieces, a little at a time, stirring well until the butter is completely incorporated.
Step 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
Add 125 g cream and mix again thoroughly.
Step 9 - ⌛ 1 min.
Salt and pepper. Your potato purée is ready.
Already quite delicious just as it is, you can serve it "Irish style", for example, with a little chopped chives.
Already quite delicious just as it is, you can serve it "Irish style", for example, with a little chopped chives.
Step 10 - ⌛ 20 min.
You can improve it even further by passing it through a sieve. It's long and tiring...
Step 11
...but you'll have the finest, smoothest potato purée ever.
Remarks
I advise you to use white pepper rather than black; it's less noticable in the finished purée (no little black bits).
The great chef Joel Robuchon liked to say that he built his restaurant's reputation on its potato purée and green salad. Indeed, I got the idea of using the sieve from him, but please note that in his day he used 250g (½ lb) of butter for 1 kg (just over 2 lb) of potatoes!
The great chef Joel Robuchon liked to say that he built his restaurant's reputation on its potato purée and green salad. Indeed, I got the idea of using the sieve from him, but please note that in his day he used 250g (½ lb) of butter for 1 kg (just over 2 lb) of potatoes!
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
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Nutritional information
| Proteins | Carbohydrates | Fats | Calories | Energy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 g | 2 g RDI=3 % | 16 g RDI=6 % | 11 g RDI=16 % | 174 kcal RDI=9 % | 727 kJ RDI=9 % |
| Whole recipe | 25 g RDI=38 % | 195 g RDI=74 % | 144 g RDI=197 % | 2,171 kcal RDI=109 % | 9,091 kJ RDI=109 % |
How much will it cost?
For 1 kg 300 g
2.40 €
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
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This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
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Butter
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Cream
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Salt
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