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
1 kg 300 g
5 IngredientsLast modified on: October 3rd 2010
For 1 kg 300 g, you will need:
1 litre 
129 ml 
125 ml 
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 1 litre 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 129 ml butter cut into small pieces, a little at a time, stirring well until the butter is completely incorporated.
Stage 8 - 2 min.
Add 125 ml 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 | 20 RDI=9 % | 200 RDI=20 % | 140 RDI=20 % | 2,170 RDI=110 % | 9,090 RDI: 110 % |
| Per 100 g | 1 RDI=1 % | 20 RDI=1 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 170 RDI=9 % | 730 RDI: 9 % |
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
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.
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.
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).
128 K4.9 30 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.
121 K4.2 1 hour 20 min.
Sausage with duchess potatoes and a Mont d'Or fondue
The duchess potatoes are poached in a roll before being sliced and fried. They are served in alternate layers with slices of sausage, also cooked in two stages (boiled then fried), then topped with a fondue of Mont d'Or cheese.
199 K3.9 2 hours 15 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Potatoes
Like these other recipes: Baked potoatoes with herb butter or cream , Fisherman's Ragout, "Day After Pork Belly" Soup, Potato tortilla (Spanish omelette), Salt cod brandade, ... See them all 83
Butter
Like these other recipes: Gâteau Nantais, Fraisier (French strawberry cake), Couscous, Warm white bean salad with smoked trout, Almond tuiles, ... See them all 472
Cream
Like these other recipes: Scallops with cabbage julienne, Chocolate cake, Potimarron (chestnut pumpkin) "au gratin", Baker's chicken and potato tart, Crunchy verrines, ... See them all 115
Salt
Like these other recipes: Canapés of red mullet with poppy seeds, Coriander and cashew nut pesto, Salmon and leek fondue tart, Tomatoes Provençal, Green beans with tomato and cheddar cheese, ... 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.