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.
243 K 4.3/5 (35 reviews)
1 hour 35 min.
Easy
650 g
5 IngredientsLast modified on: October 3rd 2010
For 650 g, you will need:
500 g 
65 g 
65 g 
Change these quantities to make:
Change measures:
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 500 g 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 65 g butter cut into small pieces, a little at a time, stirring well until the butter is completely incorporated.
Stage 8 - 2 min.
Add 65 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.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 10 RDI=5 % | 100 RDI=9 % | 70 RDI=10 % | 1,110 RDI=60 % | 4,660 RDI: 60 % |
| Per 100 g | 1 RDI=1 % | 20 RDI=1 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 180 RDI=9 % | 740 RDI: 9 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 650 g : 1.25 €
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
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.
56 K4 1 hour 8 min.
Oxtail Parmentier
Rather like the classic hachis Parmentier, but using oxtail stewed very slowly in red wine and herbs.
315 K4.7 5 hours 50 min.
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?
49 K5 1 hour 25 min.
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"...
410 K 24.3 1 hour 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.
114 K4.2 6 hours 7 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
Like these other recipes: "Day After Pork Belly" Soup, Smoky sausage and mash, Pan-fried potatoes, Potato tortilla (Spanish omelette), Sarladaise potatoes, ... See them all 83
Cream
Like these other recipes: Du Barry soup, Coconut-vanilla cream for Elsa , Chocolate-verbena cream, Leopard cake, Chocolate tart, ... See them all 115
Butter
Like these other recipes: Beurre d'escargot, Two-cheese vegetable gratin, Pecan fruit rolls , Chard and potato gratin, Pan-baked hash brown (Hash-brown casserole), ... See them all 472
Salt
Like these other recipes: Five hours poultry, Chicano burger, Fish fillet with leeks and mustard cream, Lebanese Tabbouleh, Eggplant Polpette, ... See them all 653
Other recipes you may also like
Rabbit with mustard
This recipe uses boned rabbit. This is sautéed in mustard then cooked in the oven. It is served with broad beans, bacon and mushrooms, and a sauce made with reduced white wine.May 15th 2011194 K4.9 2 hours 9 min.
Warm chicken salad
This salad is a mixture of fresh, crunchy ingredients (spring onions, radishes and lettuce) with ribbons of pan-fried chicken, added while still warm.June 24th 2012128 K4.2 30 min.
Eggs Comtoise
In this recipe from eastern France, an egg yolk sits inside a potato nest with a topping of hot cancoillote cheese. The nest is served with fried sliced potatoes.January 17th 201653 K3.8 40 min.
Pizza dough
Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.September 22th 2024513 K4.6 1 hour 60 min.
Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc
This recipe consists of delicate flakes ("petals") of poached fish, cooked with smoked ham, served on a bed of julienne vegetables (fine sticks of carrots, turnips and cabbage), with a "beurre blanc" sauce made with vinegar and shallots. Not difficult, but entails some work.December 31th 2013261 K4 1 hour 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
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.