Skip to main content

Purée De Pommes De Terre

David has an Irish friend called Jerry O’Regan who always triple checks whether or not his main course is served with mashed potatoes. In fact, Jerry doesn’t understand why all food isn’t served with potatoes. Sometimes we send him a side of lentils instead of potatoes and he looks at it as if it were alien food. We don’t want to make an “Irish guy potato” stereotype here, but after cooking for Jerry for ten years, we get it. At the end of the meal, Jerry doesn’t say thank you, he says “Feels good to have some potatoes, hey Davey?”.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

2 pounds (900 g) fingerling potatoes, unpeeled
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1/2 cup (110 g) cold unsalted butter, diced, plus more if needed

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the potatoes in a saucepan. Add water to cover by 1 inch (2.5 cm) and 1 tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you can press against the potatoes with a spoon and feel them crush.

    Step 2

    Just before the potatoes are ready, in a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil and remove from the heat. Drain the potatoes and pass them through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Add the butter and half of the milk. Using a wooden spoon, incorporate gently until silky. Add the rest of the milk and more butter if you deem necessary. Rectify the seasoning.

    Step 3

    Serve immediately as is, or push through the ricer again (if you’re going for that look) straight onto the serving plates.

Cookbook cover of The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan, and Meredith Erickson.
Reprinted with permission from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef by Frédéric Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.
Read More
Khao niaow ma muang, or steamed coconut sticky rice with ripe mango, is a classic in Thai cuisine—and you can make it at home.
With just a handful of ingredients, this old-fashioned egg custard is the little black dress of dinner party desserts—simple and effortlessly chic.
With rich chocolate flavor and easy customization, this hot cocoa recipe is just the one you want to get you through winter.
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Crunchy and crowd-pleasing, this salad can be prepared in advance and customized to your heart’s content.
Baking meatballs and green beans on two sides of the same sheet pan streamlines the cooking process for this saucy, savory dinner.
Make this versatile caramel at home with our slow-simmered method using milk and sugar—or take one of two sweetened condensed milk shortcuts.
A garlicky pistachio topping takes this sunny summer pasta from good to great.