I know, I know. Everyone knows how to make mashed potatoes, right ? You boil, you mash, add some milk and butter, or cream ; there you go !

If it were so simple, how come people marvel at the epic French purée you’re served in our decent national restaurants ? Moist, buttery and flavourful ; that is how we want it. And any amateur cook can tell you that it is not always a given.

No, adding a pint of butter is not the only secret to purée there is ! There are several small tricks to keep in mind, and I’ve listed them all for you :

• Essential : choose the right potatoes (starchy potatoes such as Bintje) ;
• Cook your potatoes in the oven instead of boiling them ;
• Don’t over-mash your potatoes, or the purée will become sticky as the process will release excess starch ;
• Your butter needs to be cold, and your milk, hot ;
• Add your butter and milk to your mashed potatoes while they’re still hot.

I didn’t know there was this much to know about a humble purée. Before I stumbled across all these pieces of advice, I made purée simply following my heart a couple of times, so I can tell you : the difference is massive.

You can serve this purée with a good piece of poultry or meat, or use it in a hachis parmentier !

Oven Purée – Recipe

Recipe – Advice & key points

• The only additional piece of advice I have is to buy decent milk and butter. As always, with recipe that only contain a handful of ingredients, each of them matters !  
• The other advice are listed above !

All set ? Let’s purée !

Print Recipe

Oven Purée

Author: Multicarbs Cooking Method: Baking Cuisine: European cuisine, French cuisine Courses: Side dish Recipe Keys: Sans maïs Sans œufs Sans soja V Vegetarian

Difficulty: Beginner Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 90 min Total Time 1 hr 45 mins

Servings: 4

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Description

A very easy, fail-proof purée that will end up moist, buttery and flavourful.    

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 kilogram Bintje potatoes (or another starchy kind of potato)
• 200 milliliters milk
• 100 grams butter
• 3 pinches salt (large pinches)
• coarse salt

Instructions

Instructions

1. Launch your potatoes

   Preheat oven to 200°C.

   Pour coarse salt in an oven-safe dish. Put same-sized potatoes in it.

   Cook 1h30 for if you have very large potatoes (mine were around 330g per potato). Lower the cooking time accordingly if yours are smaller.

   Check with a knife whether they're cooked. They must be fully cooked through, or your purée won't be soft and moist.

2. Peel & mash

   Let the potatoes rest until slightly cooled, but still hot ; you should need to use a kitchen towel to handle them. 

   With the kitchen towel in one hand and a small knife in the other, peel them. 

   Mash your peeled potatoes using either a fork or a potato masher.  

   Don't use a food processor or you'll release too much starch ! And as written earlier, don't over-mash your potatoes.

3. Finish with butter and milk

   Heat up your milk in a pan or in the microwave. 

   Cut your butter in small cubes. Whisk it into the purée using a spatula.

   Add salt.

   Add your hot milk. Whisk it in, too.  

   Et voilà !! You're done !

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