“Ever homey, ever elegant, ever irresistible, this is the dish that helped make chef Robuchon’s reputation. Clever man that he is, he realized early on that if you give people potatoes, potatoes, and more potatoes, they’ll be eternally grateful, forever fulfilled.”
From “Simply French, Patricia Wells presents the cuisine of Joel Robuchon
1991, William Morrow and Company, Inc.

2 pounds baking potatoes, such as Idaho Russets
3/4 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk
About 16 tablespoons, 1 cup, unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
Sea salt to taste

Scrub the potatoes, but do not peel them. Place the potatoes in a large pot, add salted water, 1 tablespoon salt per quart of water, to cover by at least 1 inch. Simmer, uncovered, over moderate heat until a knife inserted into a potato comes away easily, 20 to 30 minutes.

Drain the potatoes as soon as they are cooked. If they are allowed to cool in the water, the potatoes will end up tasting reheated.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring the milk just to a boil over high heat. Set aside.

As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them. Pass the potatoes through the finest grid of a food mill into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan set over low heat. With a wooden spatula, stir the potatoes vigorously to dry them, 4 to 5 minutes. Now begin adding about 12 tablespoons of the butter, little by little, stirring vigorously until each batch of butter is thoroughly incorporated; the mixture should be fluffy and light. Then slowly add about three fourths of the hot milk in a thin stream, stirring vigorously until the milk is thoroughly incorporated.

Pass the mixture through a flat fine mesh, drum, sieve, into another heavy bottomed saucepan. Stir vigorously, and if the puree seems a bit heavy and stiff, add additional butter and milk, stirring all the while. Note: few of us have a real French flat bottomed screen for scraping potato puree. Simply use any mesh sieve you have in the kitchen and press down on the potato puree as you push it through the sieve. This second step of pureeing is the true secret behind Chef Robuchon’s recipe.

Taste for seasoning. The puree may be made up to 1 hour in advance. Place in the top of a double boiler, uncovered, over simmering water. Stir occasionally to keep smooth.