Tasting of Potatoes with Black Truffle

I hope you all are enjoying the first few days of the new year. I'm having a really nice and easy week, so it was a pleasure to be able to make this dish now that it's really cold and windy outside. Let me also say that I don't think you understand how tempting it is to just post the final photo of this dish, and then the photo of aftermath of what happened when I served it. Man, it's killing me. But I won't do it. I'll just be a culinary tease and make you wait.

Let's start with the mushroom stock. You may recall from my Pot Au Duh post that I already had mushroom stock on hand. I made and froze it a few weeks ago so it'd be ready to go for this dish, and I'd have some extra stock in which to preserve a few black truffles.

I started by grinding up a pound of button mushrooms and some carrot, leek and onion with my food processor. I heated some canola oil in a stockpot, then added the ground vegetables and some curry powder to the pot. Oh, the aroma!


I then added a fresh bay leaf and fresh thyme, as well as 2 quarts of water and simmered it for just under an hour. My kitchen smelled fantastic:


I strained the stock, reserving the vegetables:


I then filled another stockpot with the reserved vegetables, more water and did the same thing again. I then combined both pots of stock (about 12-14 cups), brought it to a boil, then reduced it until I had 4 cups of stock:


This is one of those things that I always want to remember to tell people who write to me asking "what are some of the most important tools you need to do these dishes" -- YOU NEED MANY STOCKPOTS. Well, maybe not MANY, but more than one. I have two 24-quart stockpots, two 16-quart pots and two 8-quart pots, and a nice little mudroom off the kitchen with a rack of shelves on which I can store them. When making these dishes, there's always straining and reducing and straining again followed by more straining and reducing, and it helps to have multiple pots and strainers. Bravo to whoever invented TJ Maxx -- it's the best place to find great cookware at deep, deep discount. Almost all my All-Clad came from there, otherwise I'd have to prostitute myself to buy a frying pan and we wouldn't want THAT now, would we? And, how the hell did I get from writing about mushroom stock to talking about being a hooker for cookware?

Okay, so the mushroom stock was done a few weeks ago. And, I am not a prostitute. Let's be clear about that. I thawed a cup of the stock for this dish and got the other ingredients ready, so let's finally dive into the Tasting of Potatoes with Black Truffle. Once you read this, you're not going to want to make potatoes any other way, I swear.

I placed four Yukon Gold potatoes in a pot:


I covered them with water, brought it all to a boil, and let it boil for about 30 minutes until the potatoes were tender. I drained them and put the pot back on the stovetop over a medium flame to steam out any remaining moisture in the pot.

Now, while the potatoes were cooking I made the mushroom ragout. I cut (but did not peel) an assortment of red and white fingerling potatoes into pieces that were the same size, so they'd cook evenly:



I've never peeled fingerlings because that would be an exercise in stupidity, don't you think? I'd probably peel the skin off my fingers instead. Ack. I was happy to see that The French Laundry Cookbook instructions said I did't have to peel them. I wouldn't have done it anyhow, so there. I put the 3-4 cups of sliced potatoes in a strainer and rinsed them under cold, cold water for about a minute. I put them in a pot with a little bit of salt, and enough water to cover them (plus two more inches). I brought the water to a boil and cooked them for 2 minutes. I drained them in a strainer, rinsed them again with cold water, and set them aside.

During this time, I'd also put the mushroom stock with some truffle juice and vinegar into a pot and reduced it for about 5 minutes. Again, with the great smellage:


I whisked in 6 tablespoons of butter, one at a time, and added the cooked potato slices and simmered it all until the liquid became a thicker sauce consistency.


I added a few tablespoons of brunoise (which I make in large batches and keep in the freezer), as well as some finely chopped black truffles:


I seasoned with a little bit of salt and some pepper until I was satisfied with how it tasted, then kept it warm over very low heat while I finshed the rest of the dish. It's at about this time that those Yukon Golds were finished boiling. So, as you recall, I got me some hot taters I now have to peel without giving myself third-degree burns. I am happy to say that I was able to do it with only 3 swear words and one dropped potato (on the counter, not the floor, whew).


I pushed them through the tamis and put the purée in the now-dried out pot. I stirred in some salt, then alternated stirring in ten tablespoons of butter and a cup of heavy cream -- a little bit of each at a time -- stirring like a crazy madwoman the whole time while the pan was on medium heat. Wanna see how gorgeous it looks? You know you do.


I stirred a little bit of white truffle oil into the mushroom ragout just before plating. And, I didn't do individual platings of this. I did it family style and walked the plate next door for my friend and her daughter to try. As we tucked in with our forks, our eyes grew wide, then closed as we chewed and savored each bite. I knew I had to share it with another friend who lives in the other house next to mine, so the three of us, forks in hand, walked the platter over to our other friend's living room, grabbed some forks from her kitchen on the way there, and a whole gaggle of us sat around and barely spoke to one another as we PUMMELED this dish. Really, after that first bite, there were no words that needed to be spoken. There was no time for talking. There were potatoes to be eaten, and talking might mean less time for the forking and the chewing. Witness:



Um, yeah. Estimated time lapse: 6 minutes (including time walking from one house to another)

If you're playing along with The French Laundry Cookbook (and from the email I'm getting, it sounds like Santa had quite a few of them on his sleigh this year), you'll note I did not make the potato-truffle chips that were also supposed to be part of this dish. You'll recall I made them before, and they didn't really turn out right. So, I didn't want to waste the truffle on them until I could figure out how to do it correctly. That's a project for another time.

But all that aside, wow. Really, just wow. This dish was not just a certified French Laundry at Home PlateLicker™, I'd say it also rates as a Thomas Keller FaceKisser™. Gentlemen, do you have a lady you'd like to impress with your mad cooking skillz? Whip up this dish, and I'm pretty sure you'll get lucky. Girls, need some new earrings? Make these potatoes and I foresee some bling in your future.

The potato purée is out of this world. I mean, with that much butter and cream it had to be good, but this good? Yukon Gold are my favorite potatoes to make mashies with, and this was just delicious. Better than delicious. Unequalled among the legions of potatoes I've eaten in my lifetime. The potato-mushroom ragout was outstanding, too, both in terms of texture contrast and taste. I was kind of bummed I hadn't set any aside to use in an omelet the next morning. This whole dish was outstanding; truly outstanding.

If you're looking for something easy to make for a special dinner (or if you're really feeling indulgent), do either or both of the components of this dish. You won't be sorry. And, you might even be inspired to write a certain letter afterward (Dear Penthouse Forum, I never thought this would happen to me! I was making the potato puree from The French Laundry Cookbook when... bow-chicka-bow-wow).

Up Next: Salmon "Chops" with Celery and Black Truffles

Resources:
Potatoes and mushrooms from Whole Foods
Truffle and truffle juice from D'Artagnan
365 organic butter
Organic Valley heavy cream

Music to Cook By: Ugh, this is soooo embarrassing, but it was the soundtrack from the movie "P.S. I Love You". Even though it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen, the music was fantastic, and was the only reason I could tolerate sitting through that dreck. Generally, I can't stand Celtic or Irish music or bands (well, except U2, but they're not really doin' Irish music, now are they?), but for some reason, this soundtrack stuck with me, so I bought it. The only song I skip completely and will likely delete is by James Blunt because his voice bugs me to no end. However, The Pogues have a great tune on there, "Love You 'Til The End," that I really like. So, buy the soundtrack if you want something new and fun, but avoid the movie at all costs, even when it's on TBS or the CW at 2 a.m. four years from now and you have the worst case of insomnia. Seriously, read a book or something. Jeesh.

Read my previous post: French Laundry at Home - A Year in Review