Potato Purée

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place the potatoes, whole and unpeeled, in a large sauce pot. Add 2 tablespoons salt and fill the pot with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat, turn down the heat to low, and simmer about 45 minutes, until tender. One type of potato may be done before the other, so check doneness and remove one variety first, if necessary.

   Step 2

   When the potatoes are cooked through, strain them, and set them aside to cool for 10 minutes or so. Heat the cream and milk together in a small saucepan, then turn off the heat. When the potatoes have cooled, peel them and pass them through a food mill or potato ricer. Put the riced potatoes in a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat them over medium heat a few minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, to dry them out a little. Add the butter slowly, stirring constantly. Season with 2 1/2 teaspoons salt.

   Step 3

   When all the butter has been incorporated, slowly stir in the warm cream mixture until you have a smooth purée. Taste for seasoning. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh tamis twice if you like.

2. Note

   Step 4

   At the restaurant, we pass the mixture through a fine-mesh tamis [twice] using a rubber spatula. This makes an extremely smooth purée. You can skip this step if you want a more rustic-style potato purée. If you are going to serve the purée immediately, you can hold it in a double boiler or in a warm oven. Otherwise, let the purée cool, then refrigerate it. Reheat the purée gently over medium-low heat, stirring often, and adding more cream if necessary.