Potato purée


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.
240 K 4.3/5 (35 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: October 3rd 2010
For 1 kg 300 g, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
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


Stage 1 - 40 min.
Potato purée
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.

Stage 2 - 2 min.
Potato purée
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.
Potato purée
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.
Potato purée
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.

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Potato purée
Put the mashed potatoes in a pan.

Stage 6 - 5 min.
Potato purée
Stir constantly over low heat for 4 or 5 minutes to dry the purée.

This is to improve the texture.

Stage 7 - 3 min.
Potato purée
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.
Potato purée
Add 125 g cream and mix again thoroughly.

Stage 9 - 1 min.
Potato purée
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.

Stage 10 - 20 min.
Potato purée
You can improve it even further by passing it through a sieve. It's long and tiring...

Stage 11
Potato purée
...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!
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe20 RDI=9 %200 RDI=20 %140 RDI=20 %2,170 RDI=110 %9,090 RDI: 110 %
Per 100 g1 RDI=1 %20 RDI=1 %10 RDI=2 %170 RDI=9 %730 RDI: 9 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk
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 15
Welsh-style potato purée
Welsh-style potato purée

A Welsh-style twist on the classic potato purée (posh mash!), with finely sliced leeks, cooked until just done to keep their lovely green colour. This dish could be the main feature or served on the side with meat, for example.
25 K 25 min.
Colcannon
Colcannon

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish, made by mixing creamy mashed potatoes (or purée) with cabbage, chives and spring onions. There are many different versions and ways to adapt this classic recipe. My version here serves it with baked sausages.
53 K4 1 hour 8 min.
Potato and two ham gratin
Potato and two ham gratin

Little morsels of boiled and raw cured ham sautéd briefly then mixed with mashed potatoes and finished as a gratin in the oven.
125 K 14.6 50 min.
Chicken Brussels pie
Chicken Brussels pie

This is a novel twist on the well known cottage or shepherd's pie idea (minced meat topped with mashed potato). Why not try this "Brussels" pie with a mixture of mashed potato and Brussels sprouts on top of chopped chicken?
46 K5 1 hour 25 min.
Spinach parmentier
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.
879 60 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Macarons (the original French macaroons)
Macarons (the original French macaroons)
This recipe really is "of the moment": the success of these small, highly-coloured cakes, in an infinite variety of flavours, is impressive. It's a recipe which needs some care, in order to produce a result worthy of a professional pastrychef. No problem, I will guide you through the recipe,...
October 3rd 20191.59 M 714.6 2 hours 40 min.
Tomato sauce (for pizzas)
Tomato sauce (for pizzas)
This is the sauce to put on pizza bases before the toppings.
October 19th 2010527 K4.3 1 hour 15 min.
How to prepare a bain-marie
How to prepare a bain-marie
A bain-marie is the best way to cook or heat a preparation gently without risk of burning.
July 5th 2013516 K5 7 min.
French baguettes
French baguettes
This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the...
October 24th 20171.08 M 364.7 5 hours 6 min.
How to make chocolate chips
How to make chocolate chips
These chocolate chips, very fine, are perfect for decorating a dessert, but they can also be incorporated in a preparation like mint ice-cream for example.
February 21th 2011278 K3.8 5 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-05-11)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing

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.
I am not a leaving thing
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.

Back to top of page