Cookery: dauphine potatoes with creme fraiche.
This week's recipe makes a superb snack or canape for a dinner party, although in France dauphine potatoes are often served as an accompaniment to meat or poultry. You'll need a deep-fat fryer but otherwise they're simple to make, consisting of two components: mashed potato and choux pastry. The two are mixed to form a paste which is shaped into balls then deep fried. A simple way to enhance the flavour is to add fresh chopped herbs to the mixture before frying. The contrast between the crunchy exterior and creamy filling wedded to the buttery taste should whet the appetite of all your guests.
DAUPHINE POTATOES WITH CREME FRAICHE
Serves six as a canape
CHOUX PASTRY
50g whole milk
50g water
45g unsalted butter
60g plain flour
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
2 medium eggs
Warm the milk and water in a small saucepan. In a separate pan, melt the butter over a low heat.
Add the flour, salt and sugar to the butter and mix to form a roux, then pour the warm liquid into the roux and mix together until smooth and fully incorporated.
Continue to cook the mixture over a low heat for 2-3 minutes then remove the pan from the stove.
Add the eggs and mix until fully incorporated, beating for two to three minutes so the pastry has a nice sheen to it.
DAUPHINE POTATO MIX
300g mashed potato (Maris Piper, Golden Wonder or Rooster)
50g melted unsalted butter
100g choux pastry
Set a table-top deep-fat fryer to 180C. Place the mashed potato in a bowl with the butter and choux pastry, then mix well. Roll out little balls – about 15g each – of the dauphine potato mix and place them on a lightly floured tray.
Carefully place 10-12 balls at a time in the fryer and cook them for 1 or 2 minutes or until golden brown, then place them on a tray lined with kitchen paper to absorb any excess oil, seasoning with a little salt.
TO SERVE
100g creme fraiche
12 whole chives
Cut a slit in each of the cooked dauphine potatoes. Using a piping bag with a fine nozzle, fill each one with a little creme fraiche and finish with a small piece of chive.
WINE MATCH
2010 Cannonberg, Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa, L'Art Du Vin, £4.88
A crisp, zesty and fruit-packed chenin blanc from cool vineyards north of Cape Town.
The Honours, 58a North Castle Street, Edinburgh. Visit www.thehonours.co.uk or call 0131 220 2513.
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