I guess it’s tie to admit that I have very little experience with preparing Dutch food. Not that there’s anything wrong with it…per se. Or, you know, maybe there is! Its main flavor components are “salt” and “fat,” textures range from “gooey” to “gluey” and its main themes are “meat” and “potatoes.”
But even Dutch cuisine has its highlights, and a good “gehaktbal” (meatball) is one of them. Every grandma has her own top-secret recipe, and some of those recipes are fucking brilliant! Sadly, I don’t own one. Marbles’ mom, however, is widely renowned for her meatballs. And today I found out why! Marbles brought home some of her mom’s balls this weekend, and they were really damn delicious. But I can’t give you a recipe, it being Top Secret and all.
Instead, I’ll live you the recipe for my cheese-and-parsley pommes duchesse. They are the pretty little potato rosettes sitting next to that delicious looking meatball. And they’re surprisingly easy to make.
Contrary to what many think, I am not a total idiot. I love to cook, but I’m not going to go through the trouble of making mashed potatoes, getting out my piping bag, and firing up the oven, only to end up with six measly rosettes. One solution would have been to use instant mashed potatoes, but I’d e even dumber if I’d go through marginally less trouble, just to end up with pommes duchesse that taste like glue. So I just made a HUGE bunch instead, and froze the leftovers for later. They reheat well in a moderately hot oven.
I’ve always liked pomes duchesse as a side dish to meaty stews or white fish. Today I found that they also go well with meatballs. Adjust the flavorings of the pomes duchesse according to what you’re going to serve them with. These had cheese and parsley and a bit of mustard.
Pommes Duchesse
- 750 grams floury potatoes, peeled, whole
- 1 to 2 tablespoons butter + exra for greasing your dish
- 1 to 4 tablespoons cream, or
- 2 large or 3 medium egg yolks, beaten
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sharp mustard
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped very finely
- 1 handful grated cheese
- salt, pepper
Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes, until they fall apart when pierced with a fork. Drain and let them steam dry for a while. Rice the potatoes or push them through a sieve to produce a light, fluffy mash. Stir in the butter and enough cream to make a slightly dry, but smooth mash. Stir in the cheese, the mustard and the parsley. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Then stir in the egg yolks and mix well.
Prepare a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper greased with a bit of butter. Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
Put a wide nozzle on a piping bag. Spoon the potato mixture into the bag and pipe rosettes onto the baking sheet. You can pipe them close together. Alternatively, place heaping spoonfuls of the potato mixture onto the sheet. You can also shape quenelles using two wet spoons. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s pretty.
Bake the pommes duchesse or 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.