This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
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.
257 K 4.3/5 (36 reviews)
1 hour 35 min.
Easy
2.40 €
1 kg 300 g
5 IngredientsLast modified on: October 3rd 2010
1 kg 
125 g 
125 g 
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 50 min.
Cooking: 45 min.
All in all: 1 hour 35 min.
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
Stage 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.
Stage 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).
Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
As soon as they are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove any small blemishes (the "eyes" of the potato).
Stage 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.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 2 min.
Put the mashed potatoes in a pan.
Stage 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.
Stage 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.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 2 min.
Add 125 g cream and mix again thoroughly.
Stage 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.
Stage 10 - ⌛ 20 min.
You can improve it even further by passing it through a sieve. It's long and tiring...
Stage 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.
How much will it cost?
- For 1 kg 300 g : 2.40 €
Change currency:
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 16
Two-stage beef chuck
This recipe cooks beef chuck (or braising steak) in two stages: first, slow-cooked in red wine "in the bag", then fried and served with potato purée and a red-wine sauce.
125 K4.3 3 hours 60 min.
Upside-down Parmentier
Parmentier is a French version of shepherd's pie. This variation has slow-cooked meat on top of the mashed potato (purée), instead of underneath. A red-wine sauce adds the finishing touch.
125 K4.2 6 hours 7 min.
Aligot
Aligot is a traditional family dish from the Auvergne mountains in France. It is basically a potato purée enriched with cheese and stirred for a long time.
132 K4.2 1 hour 20 min.
Dauphinoise potatoes with Serano ham
These tasty, bite-sized rosettes can be served as an aperitif snack or to accompany a meal.
122 K4.6 40 min.
Spinach parmentier
A parmentier with its classic layer of mashed potatoes on top, but sliced hard-boiled eggs underneath, and grilled spinach and bacon tied together with a béchamel sauce.
17 K 60 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
Like these other recipes: Piedmont salad, Late Winter Soup with Fresh Spinach, Watercress soup, Avengers' potatoes, Normandy seafood stew, ... See them all 90
Butter
Like these other recipes: Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée), Cauliflower and chickpea purée, Cod loin with saffron, Broccoli salad with chervil-lemon mayonnaise, Tagliatelle New Zealand style, ... See them all 497
Cream
Like these other recipes: Thin summer tart "à la grecque", Chocolate ganache, Cream and herb dressing, Maple syrup cream sugar, Watercress soup, ... See them all 124
Salt
Like these other recipes: Avocado with gravlax, Escalope cordon bleu, Beet leaf pesto, Fish in white wine, Endive and walnut salad, ... See them all 697
Other recipes you may also like
Bouquet garni
Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after cooking. March 21th 2017440 K3.5 15 min.
Pan-fried scallops and chanterelles with Noilly Prat sauce
The chanterelles are fried first briefly, then the scallops fried in the same pan. The pan is deglazed with Noilly to make a delicious cream sauce. May 10th 2023252 K4.5 1 hour 6 min.
Puits d'amour
This delicious little cake's charming French name means "well of love". It is made up of layers of puff and choux pastry, assembled with a light caramel and filled with vanilla confectioner's custard. August 23th 2015139 K4.4 1 hour 45 min.
Mussels with beurre d'escargot
In this recipe, the mussels are cooked briefly first in salted water, just until they open. They are then shelled and popped in the oven for a few minutes with a knob of beurre d'escargot (butter for snails). December 2nd 201859 K 25 min.
Citrus syrup
This citrus-flavoured syrup blends the bitterness of the zest with the delicious acidity of the juice. It can be used to soak biscuits or cakes when making desserts. You can make this with whatever citrus fruits you prefer. It can be prepared in advance and will keep for several days. December 30th 201988 K 1 hour 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-04-12)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.