Duchesse potato mixture is used to garnish dishes. It is piped into various shapes and quickly browned in hot oven.

8 - 10 medium potatoes
1 - 2 tbsp butter
100 - 200 ml milk
salt
white pepper
(grated nutmeg)

1 egg or 2 egg yolks
50 - 100 ml cream
2 - 3 tbsp butter

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Cook the potatoes in salted water until just done. Pour out the water and let the excess moisture evaporate by holding the pan uncovered on a warm stove for a couple of minutes, shaking it every now and then. Puree the potatoes through a food mill.

Heat the milk in a saucepan and melt the butter in it. Add the mixture to the potato puree. Mix thoroughly and season with salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg, if you like. Whisk together the cream and the egg (or the yolks) and add to the potato mixture. Mix in the butter.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a star-shaped nozzle, pipe the duchesse mixture around the edge of a serving dish, forming a decorative border or pipe some individual rosettes on a baking sheet covered with buttered parchment paper.

Place the serving dish or the baking sheet with the duchesse potatoes in oven and bake at 300 °C for 5 minutes or until nicely browned. Carefully lift the individual duchesse rosettes with a spatula and transfer onto serving plates.

Recipe source: adapted from "Perunasose Duchesse", Ihatsu, A. et al., ed. (1993) Otavan suuri keittokirja. Keuruu: Otava.