Chef Juliette
Stuffed Onions
Oignons farcis teach the discipline of the shell: mild onions hollowed without weakness, filled with their own flesh and Duxelle, braised in butter and stock, then glazed until the tops bronze.
Culinary Explorer
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Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2213, Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Small Duchesse galettes, tender within and gilded at the edges, carry grated Cheshire through the potato and a thin melting cap above, a precise old garnish made generous enough for the holiday table.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Holiday
20 min
Active Time
8 min cook•28 min total
Yield4 servings (8 small galettes)
Pommes de Terre Duchesse au Chester (Duchesse potato galettes with Chester cheese) teach one true thing: the paste must be cool and dry enough to hold a moulded edge before it meets the oven. Grated cheese runs through the potato, beaten egg gives the galettes their gild, and a thin Chester cap melts over the top. If the paste is warm, they slump; chill it and begin again. Ça se rattrape.
The original entry assumed Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (No. 2210) already prepared by another station, a tray filled for a dining room, and a fierce service oven ready for the last seven or eight minutes. At home, use one pound of that prepared mixture, a buttered metal sheet, and the upper third of a well-heated oven. That makes eight small galettes for four people: one cook, one stove, one evening.
The brigade's holding tray and extra hands are scaffolding and can go. The cheese ratio, the small galette shape, the egg gilding, and the thin slice of Chester on each one are the dish, so they stay exactly where the book puts them. Keep the mixture cold before you shape it. That decides whether the galettes arrive proud or spread into one very agreeable, but incorrect, potato blanket.
Pommes duchesse belong to the Parisian grand-kitchen table, where smooth potato paste was piped or moulded into individual garnishes and coloured in a hot oven. In French culinary writing, Chester names Cheshire cheese from England, and its place here shows how readily the classical repertoire folded a useful foreign cheese into its own grammar. This version is not a cheese-topped croquette: it is a small baked galette, enriched within, gilded with egg, then capped with the same cheese.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared Croquettes de Pommes de Terre mixture
Quantity
1 lb (454 g) Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (No. 2210)
cooled until firm
Chester (Cheshire) cheese
Quantity
½ cup, loosely packed (120 ml / 2 oz / 57 g)
finely grated
Chester (Cheshire) cheese
Quantity
8 paper-thin slices (about 2 oz / 57 g)
cut slightly smaller than the galettes
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten until smooth
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
softened, for the tray
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared Croquettes de Pommes de Terre mixturecooled until firm | 1 lb (454 g) Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (No. 2210) |
| Chester (Cheshire) cheesefinely grated | ½ cup, loosely packed (120 ml / 2 oz / 57 g) |
| Chester (Cheshire) cheesecut slightly smaller than the galettes | 8 paper-thin slices (about 2 oz / 57 g) |
| large eggbeaten until smooth | 1 |
| unsalted buttersoftened, for the tray | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy metal baking sheet
- •Pastry brush
- •Fine grater
- •Cheese plane or very sharp slicing knife
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •Thin metal spatula
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven
Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat it to 425°F (220°C), or 400°F (200°C) with a fan. Butter a heavy metal baking sheet generously, carrying the butter beneath every place a galette will sit. Use the bare buttered metal, not a thick ceramic dish, because the short baking time requires immediate heat beneath the potatoes.
- 2
Enrich the paste
Put the cold 1 lb (454 g) Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (No. 2210) mixture in a wide bowl and scatter over the ½ cup (120 ml / 57 g) grated Chester. Fold just until the cheese is evenly distributed, pressing rather than beating so the paste stays light. It should feel firm, cool, and mouldable. If it clings heavily to your fingers or relaxes into the bowl, stop and chill it for 15 minutes. Ça se rattrape; shaping warm paste and hoping the oven will save it does not.
- 3
Mould small galettes
Divide the mixture into eight equal 2 oz (57 g) portions. Roll each briefly between your palms, then flatten it into a galette, a small round about 2 inches (5 cm) across and ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. Set the galettes on the buttered sheet with space between them and smooth any deep cracks around the edges. Keep them compact rather than broad; their little bit of height protects the tender centre.
- 4
Gild and cap
Brush each galette lightly with beaten egg, covering the top and exposed sides in one thin, even coat. This is the gild: the egg must colour the potato, not collect in a yellow moat around it. If it puddles on the tray, blot away the excess with the dry edge of the brush. Lay one thin slice of Chester on each galette, leaving a narrow egg-painted rim visible. If the crumbly cheese breaks, overlap the pieces into a single cap; they will melt together.
- 5
Bake until gilded
Bake for 7 to 8 minutes without opening the door during the first 6. The galettes are ready when their sides hold cleanly, the egg-gilded rims are deep butter gold, and the Chester caps have melted and taken a few bronze freckles. If they are hot but still pale after 8 minutes, place them under the broiler for 30 to 60 seconds, the honest home equivalent of a salamander. Watch continuously; cheese crosses from gilded to scorched with very little ceremony.
- 6
Serve them promptly
Let the galettes settle on the tray for 1 minute, then lift them with a thin metal spatula onto a warm serving platter. The short rest firms the base without sacrificing the tender middle. Bring them straight to the table beside a roast, glazed ham, or game bird while the cheese remains soft and the gilded edges are crisp. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Chester in the French source means Cheshire, the crumbly cow's milk cheese. Choose a firm wedge and chill it well before grating and slicing. A mild or medium cheddar can stand in when Cheshire cannot be found, but it will melt more heavily and taste sharper.
- •Keep the book's proportion inside the paste: 2 oz (57 g) grated cheese for every 1 lb (454 g) of prepared potato mixture. More cheese sounds generous, but it loosens the galettes and buries the potato.
- •A scale makes the eight portions quick and even. Equal thickness matters more than geometric perfection because it lets every galette heat through during the same brief visit to the oven.
- •Use a cheese plane or very sharp slicing knife on a cold wedge. If Cheshire crumbles, assemble each cap from overlapping flakes. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
- •Serve these with simply roasted meat or poultry. They already bring butter, potato, and melted cheese to the plate, so no decorative garnish belongs on top.
Advance Preparation
- •Prepare the Croquettes de Pommes de Terre (No. 2210) mixture according to its own entry up to one day ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Begin this recipe with the mixture cold and firm.
- •The cheese-enriched galettes can be moulded up to 4 hours ahead. Arrange them on the buttered sheet, cover without pressing on their surfaces, and refrigerate. Gild them and add the sliced Chester only when the oven is hot.
- •These are at their best directly from the oven. If necessary, reheat baked galettes on a metal sheet at 400°F (200°C) for 5 to 7 minutes; a microwave softens the gilded surface.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
300 calories
Total Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
155 mg
Sodium
390 mg
Total Carbohydrates
21 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
11 g
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