POMMES DE TERRE LORETTE

Pommes de Terre Lorette image

Categories Potato Side Fry Vegetarian Gourmet Sugar Conscious Pescatarian Peanut Free Tree Nut Free Soy Free No Sugar Added Kosher

Yield Makes 6 to 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

For duchesse potatoes
1 lb medium boiling potatoes
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 whole large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
For pâte à choux
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
For frying
About 4 cups vegetable oil
Special Equipment
a potato ricer; a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip; a deep-fat thermometer

Steps:

Make duchesse potatoes:
Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cover potatoes with cold salted water by 1 inch in a 2-quart pot, then simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 15 minutes.
Drain potatoes in a colander and return to pot. Dry potatoes by shaking pot over low heat until all moisture is evaporated and a film begins to appear on bottom of pot, about 2 minutes.
Force potatoes through ricer into a bowl. Add butter, whole egg and yolk, salt, and pepper and stir with a wooden spoon until very smooth. Keep potato mixture warm, covered.
Make pâte à choux:
Bring water, butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to a boil in a 1-quart heavy saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to moderate.
Add flour all at once and stir briskly with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from side of pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add potato mixture and stir until combined well. Transfer mixture to pastry bag.
Form and fry potatoes:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
Heat 2 inches oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until thermometer registers 370°F.
Resting metal tip of pastry bag on edge of pot, pipe 8 (2-inch) lengths of potato mixture directly into oil (use caution when piping into hot oil), using a small knife or kitchen shears to cut off each length of dough at tip of bag. Fry potatoes, turning over once with a slotted spoon, until crisp, golden, and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain briefly. Fry remaining potato mixture in batches in same manner.
Transfer potatoes as fried and drained to a metal rack set in a large shallow baking pan in oven to keep them crisp and warm until ready to serve.