cybercat > wrote:

> How do you make your best mashed potatoes?

You want perfect? Here you are. It takes some serious work, though.

Here is a recipe for the famous mashed potatoes by Joël Robuchon I
posted a year or two ago. It is from _Simply French_ by Patricia Wells,
complete with her comments. I've made it once and it was probably the
best mashed potatoes I've ever had, not excluding those I got served at
Robuchon's restaurant. I won't make them again, though - no matter the
result - as the effort is really disproportionate.... YMMV.

Victor

Potato Purée
Purée de Pommes de Terre

Ever homey, ever elegant, ever irresistible, this is the dish that
helped make chef Robuchon's reputation. Clever man that he is, he
realized early on that if you give people potatoes, potatoes, and more
potatoes, they'll be eternally grateful, forever fulfilled. These are,
of course, no ordinary mashed potatoes, but a purée that is softened
with an avalanche of butter and mellowed with bubbly boiling milk. The
quantity of butter and milk needed for a successfully silken and satiny
purée will vary according to the potatoes and the season. Early-season
potatoes will be firmer, demanding more butter and milk for a perfectly
soft, almost fluffy purée.

The keys here are potatoes of uniform size (so they are uniformly
cooked), and a strong arm for drying the potatoes with a flat wooden
spatula. Be sure that the butter is well chilled, for it will help make
a finer, smoother purée. Also follow the proportions of salt to water
when cooking the potatoes: You won't be able to make up for it with
additional salt at the end. I agree, this is a lot of work for a simple
potato purée. But once you taste the results, you'll agree that your
labor has been pleasantly rewarded. For exceptionally rich potatoes,
the quantity of butter may be doubled.

EQUIPMENT: A food mill; a flat fine-mesh (drum) sieve

2 pounds potatoes, such as Idaho Russets
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk
About 16 tablespoons (1 cup) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
Sea salt to taste

1. Scrub the potatoes, but do not peel them. Place the potatoes in a
large pot, add salted water (1 tablespoon salt per quart of water) to
cover by at least 1 inch. Simmer, uncovered, over moderate heat until a
knife inserted into a potato comes away easily, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain
the potatoes as soon as they are cooked. (If they are allow to cool in
the water, the potatoes will end up tasting reheated.)

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil over
high heat. Set aside.

3. As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them. Pass
the potatoes through the finest grid of a food mill into a large
heavy-bottomed saucepan set over low heat. With a wooden spatula, stir
the potatoes vigorously to dry them, 4 to 5 minutes. Now begin adding
about 12 tablespoons of the butter, little by little, stirring
vigorously after each batch of butter is thoroughly incorporated; the
mixture should be fluffy and light. Then slowly add about three fourths
of the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring vigorously until the milk is
thoroughly incorporated.

4. Pass the mixture through a flat fine-mesh (drum) sieve into another
heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir vigorously, and if the puree seems a bit
heavy and stiff, add additional butter and milk, stirring all the while.
Note: few of us have a real French flat bottomed screen for scraping
potato puree. Simply use any mesh sieve you have in the kitchen and
press down on the potato puree as you push it through the sieve. This
second step of puréeing is the true secret behind Chef Robuchon's
recipe. Taste for seasoning. (The purée may be made up to 1 hour in
advance. Place in the top of a double boiler, uncovered over simmering
water. Stir occasionally to keep smooth.)

Yield: 6 to 8 servings