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
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.
Sausage and mashed potatoes
Sausage and mashed potato, a classic family favourite, served here with a delicious reduced gravy.
28 K 45 min.
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.
124 K4.3 3 hours 60 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.
36 K 25 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?
59 K5 1 hour 25 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
Like these other recipes: Salt cod brandade, "Day After Pork Belly" Soup, Smoky sausage and mash, Real home-made chips* , Bourguignon potatoes , ... See them all 90
Butter
Like these other recipes: Chocolate sweetcrust pastry, Fried bread with leek and poached egg , Linzer torte, Brioche galette, Kouign-amann, ... See them all 490
Cream
Like these other recipes: "BN style" chocolate-filled biscuits, Blanquette of veal, Quick prawn curry, Nicholas's fish, Tartiflette, ... See them all 122
Salt
Like these other recipes: Tomato tart, Tagliatelle New Zealand style, Crème de foie gras, Pasta with mustard-cream sauce, Feta and spinach brik pie, ... See them all 691
Other recipes you may also like
Almond cream
Light and delicious, it is used in a lot of desserts like tarts, cakes and pies (epiphany galette). August 31th 2025495 K 25 20 min.
Papadums
Papadums (pronounced "poppadoms") or papad are very thin, crisp Indian crackers. They are often served as an aperitif snack in Indian restaurants. The tricky part of making them at home is rolling them out thinly enough. June 26th 2014120 K4.5 25 min.
Pistachio confectioner's custard
This is very similar to the classic confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream), but its marked pistachio taste brings a distinctive flavour to a whole range of desserts. November 21th 2018237 K4.7 35 min.
Roast cabbage with lemon
It's not always easy to find new and appealing ways to cook cabbage, but this recipe – which is fairly simple – will give you a really delicious roast cabbage, flavoured with lemon and tarragon. August 26th 202060 K5 55 min.
Small foie gras pasties
Dainty pasties, filled with a morsel of seasoned foie gras. September 7th 2018336 K4.6 2 hours
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-03-01)
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.