Typical duchess potatoes are piped into individual swirled servings, but that’s a lot of work. The chefs at America’s Test Kitchen came up with this much easier but still fluffy and tasty casserole version, so good I made it two consecutive days (for different dinner guests).
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
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The ingredients for a duchess potato casserole that comes out smooth and light, a refreshing alternative to traditional mashed spuds.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
Is there such a thing as a “dangerous” mashed potato? Well, after a fashion.
“They taste delicious,” MT said when I served this “Duchess potato casserole.” Then she added “but they’re kind of dangerous because they feel so light on my fork I have a tendency to keep eating more and more of them.”
The deceptive lightness is clearly what sets these apart from regular mashed potatoes, which they resemble — at least in this rendition.
If you’ve ever had a traditional serving of duchess potatoes, it likely came in individual servings: Round mounds of delicately swirled and delightfully golden brown spuds, created by meticulously pressing the prepped taters from a bag through a French star piping tip.
Yeah, that’s a lot of work for a fancy look that doesn’t really add much to the flavor. Which is why the folks at America’s Test Kitchen concocted this casserole variation, a style that gives all the flavor with a fraction of the work. Indeed, they were so easy I made them twice in a matter of days, once just for us and again as one of several sides for some glazed smoked pork chops grilled for visiting brothers, Joe from California and Ray from my old homestead in West Hazleton.
“They’re really good,” Joe said, while Ray zeroed in on the fluffy factor, calling them “light and airy.”
If you are like me you want to know why they are “duchess.” Web sources vary a bit, but even if it’s not the whole truth, the best story I found is this from duchessgarden.com:
The Royal Duchess of England visited King Louis in France. The King commanded a feast in her honor and the King’s chefs wanted to impress the Duchess. Since the Duchess does not wear a crown, the Head chef made a potato dish in the shape of her hat. The Royal Duchess was so impressed that King Louis proclaimed and named the Potatoes after her, Pomme Duchess and so the name became Duchess Potatoes.
The details aren’t very important, of course. The real point is that they were a favorite among nobles, and may make your guests feel a bit pampered. Indeed, MT’s other comment was that they were so good “I feel like a princess!”
Well, she’s always been worthy of regal treatment in my eyes, but the exact title isn’t important. You say princess, I say duchess, it’s all still potatoes and potahtoes.
Dobru chut!
Duchess Potato Casserole (America’s Test Kitchen)
3½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes
⅔ cup half and half
3 egg yokes
1¾ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
For topping:
1 egg white
2 tablespoons of melted butter
Pinch of salt
Heat oven to 450°
Peel potatoes and cut into ½ inch slices. Put in pot and add cold water to cover about 1 inch. Bring to simmer over medium high heat, about 18-22 minutes until no resistance with a knife
Meanwhile, whisk half and half, yokes, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl to make your “enrichments.”
Drain potatoes and mash with a ricer back into the pot (you could use a masher or whip them with an electric mixer, but the TV cooks insist a ricer makes a fluffier tater.
Add 8 tablespoons melted butter and mix together by hand. Stir in enrichments. Put into buttered casserole pan.
Even the potatoes out, then pour the topping on, tilting dish several ways until evenly coated.
Using the flat side of a paring knife, make lines about ½-inch deep and ¼-inch wide. Any pattern is fine, the TVchef did three lengthwise, marking the potatoes into long quarters, then diagonal from the top of one line to the corner of the dish, and parallel lines from tops of other lines.
Bake on middle rack until golden brown and the potatoes “souffle” a little, about 25-30 minutes. In this case, “souffle” is appropriately intended as the original French verb “souffler,” to blow or to puff. They probably will settle a bit when removed from the oven. Cool 20 minutes before serving.
