Potato Purée Swirls (French Pommes Duchesse)

A classic French recipe, pommes duchesse, or duchesse potatoes are puréed potatoes with seasoning added that are formed into spiral mounds which can have slightly different sizes or structure. They are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside..

2 lbs potatoes (Yukon Golds work best), peeled and cut into chunks
sea salt
¼ cup heavy cream
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. black pepper, freshly cracked
3 egg yolks

Place potatoes in a medium to large pot (3 qt) and cover with a couple inches of cold water. Add a couple tsp. of salt to the water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender (the tines of a fork easily pierce), about 20-25 minutes.

Melt butter, preheat oven: While the potatoes are boiling, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and set aside. You will use this butter to coat the potatoes right before they go in the oven.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Drain potatoes and let them release steam: When the potatoes are cooked, drain in a colander and put the potatoes back in the pot set over low heat. Allow them to release steam for a minute or so.

Mash with butter, then with spices and cream, then with salt and egg yolks: Add 2 Tbsp. of butter and mash the potatoes until the butter has been incorporated. Add the nutmeg, black pepper, heavy cream and continue mashing the potatoes.

Once everything is incorporated, add salt to taste and the egg yolks.

Continue to mash until the mixture is smooth. Do not over-mash or your potatoes will end up with a gluey consistency.

Using a piping bag with a large star point, pipe the potatoes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchement paper. Brush with melted butter. Alternatively, you can just fill a casserole dish with the mashed potatoes, and use a fork to create lots of peaks on the surface.

The swirled edges from the star-point piping bag forms or the peaks of mashed potatoes in a casserole dish will brown nicely in the oven. The browned parts taste great, so you want to maximize them.

Bake until nicely browned, about 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.