Purée de Pommes de Terre à l'Ail
Purée de Pommes de Terre à l'Ail·(pyoo-ray duh pum duh tair ah l-eye)
Chapter 3 — The Sides
This is the unapologetic, butter-laden brasserie purée served beneath the glow of the zinc bar on Spring Street. It asks for a formidable amount of premium cultured butter, an overnight steep of garlic in heavy cream, and the stubborn patience to push scalding hot potatoes through a ricer. Do not look for weeknight shortcuts here; respect the process. The reward is a texture so fundamentally silky, and a flavor so profoundly deep, that you will instantly recognize the magic of a proper American French bistro.
Before you start
Plan for an overnight steep.
While you can technically blend and use the garlic cream immediately, giving it 12 hours in the refrigerator accurately mimics the prep cycles of a professional line and deepens the flavor.
Ingredients
- garlic cloves12 large
- heavy cream2 cup
- Yukon Gold potatoes3 lb
- cultured French butter3/4 lb
- Kosher salt3 tbsp
- white pepper1 tsp
Method
- 01
Steep the garlic and cream overnight.
Combine the garlic and cream in a small saucepan, bring barely to a simmer, then cook on the lowest possible heat for 30 minutes. Cool and refrigerate overnight to coax out a resonant, sweet garlic depth.
- 02
Blend the cold garlic cream.
The next day, gently heat the infused cream until steaming, then transfer it to a high-speed blender. Blend on high until the garlic is completely pulverized and the liquid is frothy and smooth.
- 03
Boil the potatoes in their jackets.
Place the unpeeled potatoes in a large Dutch oven and cover with cold water by at least two inches. Add enough salt to make the water taste like the sea, then simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes until a paring knife meets zero resistance.
- 04
Peel and rice the hot potatoes.
Drain the potatoes and, working as quickly as your hands can tolerate using a folded kitchen towel, peel away the skins. Immediately pass the scalding hot potatoes through a ricer or food mill back into the empty Dutch oven.
- 05
Dry the potato pulp over heat.
Place the Dutch oven over medium-low heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for five minutes. This evaporates residual moisture, creating microscopic voids within the potato that will absorb the massive quantity of fat.
- 06
Emulsify the cold butter.
Off the heat, aggressively beat the ice-cold butter cubes into the hot potato pulp a few at a time. The slow melt of the cold butter ensures a tight, glossy emulsion rather than a greasy, separated mess.
- 07
Whisk in the hot garlic cream.
Switch to a sturdy whisk and slowly pour in the steaming garlic cream, whisking continuously. The potatoes will lighten significantly, becoming impossibly silky.
- 08
Season aggressively and hold warm.
Fold in the white pepper and add Kosher salt a pinch at a time, tasting constantly. Keep the purée warm over a barely simmering water bath until you are ready to serve alongside a steak frites.
Notes
A ricer is non-negotiable.
Never place the potatoes in a food processor, which will shear the starch cells and instantly turn the entire batch into inedible wallpaper paste.
Butter quality dictates the texture.
American sweet cream butter introduces too much water into a mixture you just painstakingly dried. Spring for an 83 percent fat cultured French butter, or a premium domestic equivalent, to maintain a tight emulsion and provide the requisite lactic tang.
Keep it visually pristine.
Black pepper provides the wrong flavor profile and litters the snowy canvas of the mash with rustic specks. Use white pepper to preserve the white-tablecloth aesthetic.