Mushroom Topping for Mashed Potatoes

To ‘mash’ or to ‘purée’? As will be obvious to readers of this book, I belong to the latter category. ‘Mash’ is one of the ugly words of cookery.

To make a good purée, a floury potato is essential. Put unpeeled, even-sized potatoes, cut in quarters, in cold salted water, bring to a boil and simmer gently until the potatoes are cooked. The Roux brothers recommend putting a quarter of a lemon in the cooking water to prevent break-up. As soon as the potatoes can be handled push off the