“Baroness” potatoes (aka the poor cousin of the Duchess)

When I saw that Jen had challenged us to work with potatoes this month for Kitchen Bootcamp, I knew immediately what I wanted to make. Lately, I have been craving little golden baked puffs of potato-ey perfection – I was reading a vintage cookbook and came across a picture and it brought me back to the 1970s dinner parties my mum and dad used to throw with all sorts of fancy eats like Duchess Potatoes.  Chapter 26 of The Professional Chef does, indeed include instructions for these but I felt I might modernise them a little by making flattened discs of potato rather than fancy schmancy piped out ones. They didn’t exactly come out as elegant as I had hoped so I dubbed them “Baroness” potatoes – a Baroness being the lowest rank of nobility at the opposite end of the scale from the Duchess.

Yield: 3-4 as a side, 2 as a snack!

"Baroness" potatoes (aka the poor cousin of the Duchess)

A version of Duchess potatoes in a small bowl on a checkered tablecloth with tomato ketchup

A rustic version of the classic Duchess potato.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into even sized cubes
  • 3 tablespoons whipping (heavy) cream
  • 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400˚F.
  2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
  3. Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and just cover with cold water.
  4. Over a high heat, bring to a boil and then lower temperature and simmer the potatoes until they are fork-tender (10-20 minutes)
  5. Drain the potatoes then either using a food mill, a ricer or a not-too-fine sieve, push the hot potatoes through so they are fluffy.
  6. Add in the cream, the room temperature butter and egg yolk and mix until just combined and smooth.
  7. Place the potato mixture in a piping bag and pipe small balls of the mix onto the baking tray.
  8. Flatten the balls into small discs (they should be about 3cm across) using either your thumb or the back of a fork.
  9. Brush discs with the melted butter, making sure to coat both sides.
  10. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the discs over and return tray to oven for a further 15 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
  11. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately, either as a side dish or simply with ketchup.

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Result?

Yeah ok – these were pretty rustic looking but I actually really liked the taste. Hot out of the oven they were crispy on the outside and light fluffy on the inside. The only thing is, they didn’t re-heat so well so if you make them, plan on eating them all 😉  I’ll definitely make these again because I loved their clumsy elegance. Sometimes, you know, there’s no place for a Duchess at the dinner table.

 

 

 

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25 thoughts on ““Baroness” potatoes (aka the poor cousin of the Duchess)”

  1. Mardi’s critique was spot on: I was greeted by these (with sous-vide salmon, I’m sure you’ll be hearing about that soon…) fresh off a flight from Chicago.

    Tasty, but on the re-heat the Baroness seemed to lose all nobility, and I think had moved Downstairs. No crispy-ness, a little flat and mushy.

    Reply
  2. I have fond memories of duchess potatoes from my parents’ dinner parties too. I love how the piped edges would get all browned and crisp, but they really are a lot of work… so this slightly less fancy version sounds like it’s right up my alley. 🙂
    (Also, I’m pretty sure I’d have no trouble polishing off a whole batch on my own, especially if I know they don’t reheat well!)

    Reply
  3. I love duchess potatoes. We made them in a cooking class up in Maine not too long ago. I loved them, and always say I’ll make them at home, but the piping just tires me out, its something I’ve never been great at. I’ll go rustic any day!

    Reply
  4. Don’t worry Mardi… you still have significant leeway down the social scale. Who knows, “serf potatoes” could eventually emerge from your kitchen. With the pic, you could almost smell them. They would not have lasted long with me.

    Reply
  5. Wow… Mardi these look amazing! I actually think I like the Baroness version much better than the fancier Duchess recipe… And, I even have a thing for piping food into pretty patterns! You can bet that Darron and I will be dining on these very soon. Yum 🙂

    And, as always… Thanks so much for participating in this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge!

    Reply
  6. I made these tonight and they were so yummy. Mine came out too sticky to flatten, but they didn’t need flattening. It’s probably because I used a food processor to mash them so the consistency was probably different. My husband and 4 year old loved them too. Thanks for sharing the recipe (found it on pinterest).

    Reply

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