Purée au raifort

horseradish potatoes1

Potato purée with horseradish

This is a tangy variation on standard mashed potatoes that marries well with roasted meat, poultry or fish, and that can play the starring role in a vegetarian dinner.

For best results, choose a variety of potatoes that will mash up well, for example russets in the States, Maris Piper in the UK or Bintje potatoes in France. As for the horseradish, use fresh horseradish root if you can find it. But if not — and it is difficult to find in France — a store-bought horseradish sauce (white, not red) will be fine.

1 pound (500 g) potatoes
2 tsp. sea salt or table salt
1/4 cup (5 cl) milk
1/4 cup (5 cl) creme fraiche, sour cream or heavy cream
1 tsp. finely grated fresh horseradish or 2 tsp. horseradish sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Peel the potatoes and chop in quarters. Place in a pot of cold water deep enough to cover the potatoes completely. Add the salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes through a colander. Return them to the empty pot. Mash roughly with a fork. Add the milk and cream and purée until smooth using a blender. Stir in the horseradish. Grind in some black pepper. Taste, and add more salt as necessary.

Reheat gently over a very low flame. Serves 2-3.