1,569 easy and fully explained recipes, with +66K photos and 78 videos

This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...

Potato purée

Name: Potato purée
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 1 kg 300 g
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1 kg potatoes; 125 g butter; 125 g cream; Salt; Pepper

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.

258 K 4.3/5 (36 reviews)

1 hour 35 min. difficulté

Easy

2.40 €

1 kg 300 g

5 Ingredients

Last modified on: October 3^rd 2010

For 1 kg 300 g, you will need:

1 1 kg potatoes
2 125 g butter
3 125 g cream
4 Salt
5 Pepper
Total weight: 1,250 grams

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 recipe	24 RDI=38 %	195 RDI=74 %	143 RDI=197 %	2,171 RDI=109 %	9,091 RDI: 109 %
Per 100 g	1 RDI=3 %	15 RDI=6 %	11 RDI=16 %	173 RDI=9 %	727 RDI: 9 %

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 16

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.

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.
37 K 25 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.

Fried rillettes

Rilletes formed into thin cakes and fried. This allows the fat to drain off during cooking and leaves crunchy and tasty discs of lean meat which can be served with mashed potato (purée).
140 K4.9 30 min.