Dominique Crenn’s Pommes Purée Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Oct 26, 2022 • 4 min read
This isn’t your typical mashed potatoes recipe. Dominique Crenn’s pommes purée (puréed potatoes) rests on a leek “fondue” and features a garnish of crispy fried leeks. Additional flavor comes from the beurre blanc (French white butter sauce) and leek powder.
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About Dominique Crenn
Dominique Crenn is an award-winning chef and advocate for sustainability and equity in the culinary world. Growing up in the Brittany region in northwest France, Chef Crenn spent many hours working in her grandmother’s potato fields, foraging for mushrooms with her father and brother, and partaking in her family’s Sunday dinners. Her father’s best friend, a restaurant critic in Brittany, sometimes brought her along on his tasting trips. These experiences sparked her imagination and taught Chef Crenn to think of cooking as a form of storytelling. All of these memories, as well as the familial and communal love they evoked, would become touchstones in her cooking.
What Is Pommes Purée?
Pommes purée (“potato purée”) is the French term for “mashed potatoes.” (Another spelling is “pomme purée.”) Most chefs make this classic side dish by first boiling potatoes—La Ratte fingerling potatoes are popular in France; Yukon Golds are a good substitute—then passing them through a potato ricer or food mill to achieve a texture that is fluffy, not gluey. Heavy cream or whole milk provides richness, while aromatics like chives, white pepper, and even whole roasted garlic cloves add bite to the riced potatoes.
About Dominique Crenn’s Pommes Purée Recipe
For this recipe, Chef Crenn draws on her memories of family dinners to elevate the humble potato into a showstopper in its own right, and the secret is good salted butter. In most of France, unsalted butter is the default choice, but salted butter is favored in Chef Crenn’s home region of Brittany, where a meal might begin with a toast: “Au bon beurre salé!” (“Here’s to good salted butter!”)
Dominique Crenn’s Pommes Purée With Leeks and Beurre Blanc Recipe
makes
prep time
1 hrtotal time
2 hr 30 mincook time
1 hr 30 minIngredients
For the leek fondue:
For the leek powder:
For the fried leeks:
For the mashed potatoes (pommes purée):
For the beurre blanc:
Make the leek fondue:
- 1
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, and then add the sliced leeks.
- 2
Cook them until they’re very soft, stirring often, about 25 minutes.
- 3
After 25 minutes, add the mustard (if using), crème fraîche, and lemon juice to the saucepan.
- 4
Continue to cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
- 5
After 10 minutes, season the fondue with fleur de sel or kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
Make the leek powder:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Thinly slice the trimmed leek into ¼-inch rounds, then spread the slices in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
- 3
Bake until the slices are dark brown and completely charred, about 30 minutes.
- 4
After 30 minutes, allow the leeks to cool completely.
- 5
Once they’re cool, use a coffee grinder to grind them in batches until they become powder.
- 6
Store the powder in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.
Make the fried leeks:
- 1
Slice the trimmed leek into 3-inch sections, then cut each section in half.
- 2
Slice the leek segments lengthwise and as thinly as possible, creating 3-inch matchsticks.
- 3
In a small saucepan or fryer, heat the canola oil to 330 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you’re using a stockpot, use an instant thermometer to check the temperature.)
- 4
If you’re using a saucepan: Fry the leek matchsticks until they just start to brown, about 4 minutes. If they become golden brown, they’ve been cooked too much and will be bitter. They will continue to crisp as they cool. If you’re using a fryer: Fry the leek matchsticks until they just start to brown, about 4 minutes. If they become golden brown, they’ve been cooked too much and will be bitter. They will continue to crisp as they cool.
- 5
Use a slotted spoon to remove the leeks from the hot oil, and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
- 6
Season the leeks with fleur de sel or kosher salt, to taste.
- 7
Transfer the seasoned leeks to a baking sheet, and place the baking sheet in the oven on the lowest temperature or in a dehydrator set to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, until ready to serve.
Make the mashed potatoes:
- 1
In a blender, purée the Yukon Gold potatoes, gradually adding the crème fraîche, butter, and fleur de sel or kosher salt.
- 2
If the mixture is too thick, add a small amount of filtered water until the purée reaches your desired texture.
Make the beurre blanc:
- 1
In a large saucepan set over medium heat, combine the white wine, shallot, garlic, tarragon, and bay leaves.
- 2
Cook, stirring with a spatula, until the liquid has almost entirely reduced, about 5 minutes.
- 3
After 5 minutes, remove the tarragon and bay leaves.
- 4
Turn the heat to low.
- 5
Add the butter, a few pieces at a time, while stirring rapidly with a whisk until all the butter has been incorporated.
- 6
Once the butter has been incorporated, remove the pan from the heat and season the sauce with lemon juice and fleur de sel or kosher salt, to taste.
- 7
Keep the beurre blanc in a warm place until you’re ready to serve.
Plate and serve the dish:
- 1
Portion the leek fondue into each bowl.
- 2
Transfer the mashed potatoes into a whipped cream charger, and charge it twice.
- 3
Discharge three distinct dollops of potato atop the leek fondue.
- 4
Spoon the beurre blanc around each dollop of potato.
- 5
Use tweezers to arrange the fried leeks around the bowl.
- 6
Transfer 1 tablespoon of leek powder into a fine-mesh strainer. Tap the strainer several times above each plate to lightly dust the dish.
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