The World’s Most Decadent Mashed Potatoes!
The late Chef Joe Robuchon was known to make the world’s most decadent mashed potatoes, and here’s why!
The Power Of “Comfort Food!”
Chef Yotam Ottolenghi said it best:
“When it comes to cooking and eating, what does ‘comfort’ mean? At first glance, we might think of it as the food we make and eat at home, after a tough day. It’s the food we make without thinking too much. It might also be the recipes we grew up on, which remind us of being a kid and being looked after. Or the food we eat too much of, unable to resist its ability to hit the spot.”
So opens the introduction to Ottolenghi Comfort. I know this because my blogging friend Jo Tracy shared that as she launched her latest “Brookford Kitchen Diaries” cooking challenge: make comfort food! Well, for me it goes back to Chef Robuchon’s “purée de pomme” – known as the most famous mashed potatoes recipe in the world. Despite his passing in 2018, Robuchon’s legacy lives on through the famous dish, purée de pomme.
The great Chef and Cookbook Author Patricia Wells presented Chef Robuchon’s cuisine in this terrific collection of recipes – including his legendary mashed potatoes!
Chef Robuchon once said this:
“The mashed potatoes, it’s true, made my reputation. I owe everything to these mashed potatoes.”
I love this cookbook – it’s filled with incredible dishes – but today we are all about that iconic potato dish!
There are very few ingredients for this dish – and it’s all about the ratio!
Four Ingredients – That’s It!
Yes, this decadent “comfort food” is just these mighty four:
2 pounds potatoes
1 pound butter
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
sea salt to taste
That’s it, and no that’s not a typo – a whole pound of butter!
Let’s get this decadence going!
Get Your Potatoes Into Boiling Water!
The first step is to rinse your potatoes and get them boiling!
Chef liked to slow boil his potatoes with the skins on – you will peel them afterwards…he felt the skins gave the potato a richer flavor during cooking. You should be able to put a knife easily through a potato to ensure they are cooked…about 20 minutes or so. I made them once with the skins and tried them without this time:
I could watch this for hours…mesmerizing!
Next up, the “big two”:
The Chef’s “Two-To-One” Ratio!
Here’s the reason these are such decadent potatoes: they are loaded with heavy cream and butter!
Chef Robuchon’s creamy mashed potatoes contain a crazy amount of butter.
Here’s a picture I took the first time I made them: two parts potato to one part butter ratio!
Yes, you read that right; the recipe is a 2:1 ratio of pure, comforting heaven. A full pound of butter is used for the two pounds of potatoes in the recipe!
When the potatoes are done, drain them and let them cool. Meanwhile, melt your butter…I like to do it slowly in a pan but you can microwave it as well.
Once the potatoes are peeled, put them in a pan, smash them a bit, then pour your melted butter into the pot and mash them up a bit so bring the two ingredients together…
Note how buttery yellow the potatoes are: that’s because this mix is 1/2 butter! Add some of your salt now and taste, and also put your heavy cream into a sauce pan and slowly warm it.
Once warm, you simply pour the milk in to the potato/butter mixture…and it sure seemed to me like a LOT of liquid was being added!
Take a look:
Potato Soup!
I was immediately shocked at how the warm cream turned my dish into soup!
I took a deep breath and told myself that Patricia Wells and Joel Robuchon must know what they are doing, so I slowly began to stir it together by hand for two minutes over very low heat, and something started to happen – here’s a closer look at the dish as it all came together:
A Perfect Puree!
Little did I know just how “thirsty” these potatoes were: after two minutes of blending, they were velvety smooth – a perfect puree!
They were delicious! Velvety smooth, incredibly rich in flavor, I love these – the key is to NOT CARE ABOUT THE RATIO OF POTATO TO BUTTER TO CREAM!
Of course, they were crying out for something to rest atop them, so let’s put some scallops in milk for a half hour:
I decided to sear some Scallops in that same French butter…so first I soaked them in milk for a half hour: it helps tenderize them and also clean out any grit embedded in them – then It was into the frying pan:
The kitchen smelled heavenly, and then I brought it all together like this:
I added a bit of basil to the top and the dish was done!
Robuchon’s “purée de pomme” exemplifies his love of flavor, and highlights his legacy as a chef.
With just four ingredients — potatoes, butter, milk, and salt — he created an incredibly rich, luxurious, silky dish that was completely unlike any mashed potatoes the world had seen before!
According to The Guardian newspaper, critics have described eating Robuchon’s potatoes as an “emotional” experience!
As I said, this dish was part of Jo’s “Comfort food” cooking exercise, and here’s how she started it off:
The “comfort” recipe that Jo sharied was for Caramelised White Chocolate and Macadamia Cookies, and they look delicious!
See her recipe – and the reason this dish “comforts” her, by heading over to her website!
You will also find my story there, along with many others from foodies around the world, all sharing their favorite comfort food!
My decadent mashed potatoes were just one of many ways we have loved the potato:
This picture came from a potato binge that Alex and I had in Paris one week…where we ate potatoes four different ways – click here to see them all!
And if you just need a potato cake, why not this one?
I replicated the iconic recipe from Chez L’Ami Louis in Paris…see how I did it here:
Thanks again to Jo Tracy for putting on this great cooking challenge!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Books / Media, Chef memoirs, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
Potatoes are definitely a comfort food and this recipe looks so good. Thanks!
A whole pound of butter. Oh my giddy aunt! This is decadence personified. Love it (and wish I was there to eat it!) See you in Italy….
Yes, it’s not for the weak of heart! A small amount of t is all you need for sure! Italy is next indeed! Cheers!
yes, and a spoon please
oh my this sounds soooo good John! I love potato mash – i mean, who doesn’t? :=) but this sounds heavenly indeed.
cheers
sherry https://sherryspickings.blogspot.com/
Thank you for the comment and for the link – I will check out your blog!
Am hugely smiling and enjoying the read . , , leaving others to enjoy the potatoes . . .
I love potatoes and they are definitely a comfort food. WOW…a pound of butter. Bet it’s yummy though.
It is delicious but it is decadent as well! I would NEVER make this recipe – but he was legendary for the greatest pomme puree in the world, so I had to! Thanks for the comment, great hearing from you!
Oh my!
500g to 1kg of potatoes – wow – no wonder it is such a fabulous dish. I love potatoes and this, with the scallops, looks perfection. Thanks for sharing!
500g butter that should have read – I was just too excited 🙂
Yes, they were legendary for the fact they are literally half butter and cream to potato! Delicious but not an everyday treat that’s for sure! Thanks for the comment, great hearing from you!
Wow! That would be something!
It’s really delicious and once in a while fine for you!