Tuesday, April 19, 2011

How to Make Duchess Potatoes

Now why anyone would want to go to the bother of making Duchess potatoes, I'll never know! Duchess potatoes are basically just mashed potatoes put through a piping bag so that they make pretty little raised mounds which are then slightly browned in the oven to crisp them up. I reckon some cook invented Duchess potatoes (for some Duchess no doubt) in the Middle ages or some other time in history when there was nothing else to eat bar potatoes!


  • Anyway you will want to take your cooked potatoes and mash them. It is a good idea to put them through a special potato ricer and this really smooths all the lumps out.
  • Then add 1 egg yolk for every pound of potatoes you are cooking, and beat in well with a wooden spoon to make a really smooth paste. 
  • Mix in a little margarine or butter. 
  • Then scoop the mixture into a piping bag with a 1 inch sized nozzle. 
  • Then squeeze the bag so that some of the mixture comes out on to a greased baking tray. I imagine this takes a bit of practice to perfect. I wouldn't know, I have never owned a piping bag. Too footery for my kitchen. 
  • Anyway, you want those little mounds to be about 2" high. Fill the tray with as many as you can make, and stick in a hot oven for a few minutes just to harden the edges a little, so that you can add some beaten egg without it all collapsing. 
  • Return to oven and bake until it is lightly browned.

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