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Duchess Potatoes

Piped rosettes of mash dried in the oven before the egg goes in, so they hold their ridges instead of slumping.

Egg. Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains egg, dairy (butter), dairy (milk).

Ingredients

Method

  1. THE MASH IS DRIED IN THE OVEN BEFORE THE EGG GOES IN. Spread on a tray, five minutes at 180C, until the surface looks matt. Potato holds far more water than it seems to, and water is what makes a piped rosette sag flat in the oven -- all those careful ridges gone, and nothing to be done about it. Dried first, they come out standing up with every ridge browned.
  2. AND THE YOLKS GO IN WARM, NOT HOT. Hot mash scrambles them into threads; cold mash will not take them smoothly and cannot be piped. Warm to the back of the hand.
  3. YOLKS ONLY, NO WHITES. White is mostly water and it puffs and then collapses. The yolks are there to set the shape and to brown.
  4. IT IS RICED AND NEVER BLENDED, and then PASSED THROUGH A SIEVE as well. Any lump at all will block a star nozzle and split the rosette halfway round.
  5. THEY ARE PIPED AND THEN CHILLED BEFORE BAKING. Twenty minutes in the fridge sets the shape so the first blast of heat cannot slump it.
  6. Potatoes peeled, cut into even chunks and boiled in well-salted water 18 to 20 minutes until completely tender.
  7. Drained and left in the colander 5 minutes to steam off.
  8. Riced, then pushed through a fine sieve with the back of a ladle.
  9. Spread on a baking tray and DRIED at 180C for 5 minutes, until the surface is matt rather than glistening.
  10. Scraped into a bowl and the butter, nutmeg, salt and white pepper beaten in. Cooled to warm.
  11. The yolks beaten in one at a time.
  12. Piped as rosettes onto a lined tray with a large star nozzle, 6 cm across, finishing with a quick flick so there is no tail standing up to burn.
  13. CHILLED 20 minutes, then glazed lightly.
  14. Baked at 200C for 18 to 20 minutes until the ridges are deep gold. They can be piped a day ahead and kept in the fridge, or frozen on the tray.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under France · All recipes