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.
256 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
Hachis parmentier
This is the French answer (meat with mashed potato and cheese) to the English cottage or shepherd's pie: a typical family recipe which is an excellent way of using up leftover meat. The proportions are vague here: you need "whatever you have left over"...
425 K 24.3 1 hour 25 min.
Salmon and Spinach Gratin
This gratin has a layer of spinach, a layer of salmon with tomato and a layer of potato purée topped with grated cheese.
79 K4.3 50 min.
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.
138 K 14.6 50 min.
Oxtail Parmentier
Rather like the classic hachis Parmentier, but using oxtail stewed very slowly in red wine and herbs.
328 K4.7 5 hours 50 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.
131 K4.2 1 hour 20 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
Like these other recipes: Fillets of sole Dieppoise, Turnip top soup, Sorrel soup, Piedmont salad, Gratin Comtois, ... See them all 90
Butter
Like these other recipes: Caramelized apple rice pudding, Cantucci di Prato, Pogne de Romans, Potato Waffles with Smoked Salmon, Gingerbread, ... See them all 492
Cream
Like these other recipes: Caesar salad, New York style pasta, Pasta with green asparagus, Montagnon rice, Bounty-style tart for Alison, ... See them all 123
Salt
Like these other recipes: Gratin Parmentier, Purple Pesto, Mussels marinière, Chard and cauliflower soup, Spaghetti with mussels and basil, ... See them all 693
Other recipes you may also like
Financiers
This delicious little cake gets its name from its shape, in the form of a gold ingot. April 14th 2020349 K 24.6 20 min.
Fresh pasta dough
You can use this dough to make lasagne, ravioli, spaghetti, etc. - in fact, any fresh pasta you wish. December 6th 2012204 K3.8 1 hour 15 min.
Almonds pyramids
If you are already familiar with coconut pyramids, you might like to try these almonds flavoured pyramids. The recipe is very straightforward, but these little cakes, with their crisp outside and moist centre, are simply delicious. January 13th 202157 K 35 min.
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Quite similar to crème anglaise but much thicker. It is used in many pastries like choux pastry (pâte à choux) or millefeuille. January 27th 2017784 K 313.8 40 min.
Sugar syrup
This syrup is mainly used as a basis for all sorbet recipes, which consist of this syrup and fruit pulp, but it can be also used to soak biscuits for example, or for fruit salads. February 21th 2011779 K3.5 8 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-03-15)
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.