The name may sound fancy, but pomme duchesse are simply baked mashed potato balls. As a kid, I think it was my favorite side dish. It’s crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and just oozes potato-ey goodness.
Not only is it a perfect dish for formal events, but it dresses down as well. Halloween is on its way, and the girls and I have been planning to make some edible ghosts for a Halloween party the girls are attending. Mashed potatoes seemed like the obvious choice. Since I had some pommes duchesse mixture on hand, we decided to test our decorating skills today. I piped the pommes duchesse mixture into several cones. The girls added eyes by using mustard seeds and cumin seeds for the eyebrows. The result is ghoulishly delicious. Sorry, I couldn’t resist!
1. Info for Duchess Potatoes (Pommes Duchesse)
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 8
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Duchess Potatoes (Pommes Duchesse)
- 4 Russet potatoes, about 2 pounds
- 7 tablespoons butter, diced
- 7 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons bread crumbs (see tips)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons dill, finely chopped, + extra for garnish
- 2 teaspoons French tarragon, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic chives, finely snipped
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, freshly ground
3. Directions:
- Peel the potatoes and place them in a pot. Fill it with cold water until the potatoes are barely covered. Bring to a boil, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt; and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook for about 20-23 minutes. The potatoes should be fork-tender. Remove from the pot. Drain the potatoes and let them cool. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, mash them, using a potato masher. Add butter.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat 3 egg yolks with sugar for about 2-3 minutes. You’ll get a pale yellow foam and the texture of the egg yolk will be slightly denser. Add nutmeg.
- Add the egg yolks to the mashed potatoes. Add the herbs, bread crumbs and 6 tablespoons of heavy cream. Mix well using food service disposable gloves. Season with salt and pepper.
- Put the mashed potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe immediately into smaller golf-ball-size shapes, 2 inches apart, onto parchment-lined sheet pans.
- Beat the remaining egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of heavy cream using a fork. Lightly brush the egg wash over the potatoes. Make sure to coat the entire outer surface.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375°F and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown. At the end, if they are not golden brown enough, change setting to broil for 2 minutes or until the potatoes are nicely browned. Immediately remove the pommes duchesse from the oven.
- Serve immediately. Garnish with dill.
- Bon appétit!
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