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 Lorette
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2226, Pommes de Terre Lorette, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Cheese folded into Pommes Dauphine, shaped into the crescent that defines Lorette, lightly floured, then fried for six minutes: crisp and bronzed outside, tender and airy within.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
25 min
Active Time
12 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings, about 11 crescents
Pommes de Terre Lorette (cheese-enriched Pommes Dauphine crescents) teaches how a measured enrichment can change character without upsetting structure. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is this: the book's ounce of grated cheese to each pound of Pommes Dauphine is a ratio, not a suggestion. More cheese makes the paste heavy and prone to leaking; kept exactly, it fries into a crisp shell around a tender, airy middle.
The brigade entry assumed prepared Pommes Dauphine waiting in the mise en place, hands to weigh and mould a whole tray, and a deep fryer already steady at service heat. At home, the honest equivalents are a finished one-pound batch of that preparation, a digital scale, a heavy pot, and a thermometer. The ratio and six-minute fry remain untouched; only the batch size and a brief low-oven hold have changed so one cook can serve eleven crescents together. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The brigade's tray work is scaffolding and can go. The 1½-ounce portion, crescent shape, moderate dredge, and last-minute fry are the dish and must stay. Before the oil heats, make the crescents firm and cold enough to keep their seams closed; if the paste softens, chill it rather than burying it in flour.
Pommes de Terre Lorette belongs to the Parisian classical repertory of pommes de terre apprêtées, named potato preparations devised to give the formal table distinct shapes and textures. It grew directly from Pommes Dauphine by adding grated cheese and moulding the paste into crescents rather than round puffs; despite its ornamental name, it is not a regional farmhouse potato dish. The preparation passed naturally into cuisine bourgeoise because the paste could be made ahead, then shaped and fried as the main dish came to the table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
prepared Pommes Dauphine mixture
Quantity
about 2 cups (480 ml / 1 lb / 454 g)
cold
Gruyère cheese
Quantity
1/4 cup (60 ml / 1 oz / 28 g)
finely grated
plain flour
Quantity
1/3 cup (80 ml / 40 g)
for dredging
neutral frying oil
Quantity
6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg), or enough for a 2-inch (5 cm) depth
for deep-frying
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| prepared Pommes Dauphine mixturecold | about 2 cups (480 ml / 1 lb / 454 g) |
| Gruyère cheesefinely grated | 1/4 cup (60 ml / 1 oz / 28 g) |
| plain flourfor dredging | 1/3 cup (80 ml / 40 g) |
| neutral frying oilfor deep-frying | 6 cups (1.4 L / 1.3 kg), or enough for a 2-inch (5 cm) depth |
Equipment Needed
- •Digital kitchen scale
- •5-quart heavy pot or Dutch oven
- •Clip-on deep-fry thermometer
- •Spider or long-handled slotted spoon
- •Wire rack and rimmed sheet pan
Instructions
- 1
Fold in cheese
Put the cold Pommes Dauphine preparation in a wide bowl and scatter the finely grated Gruyère over it in three additions, folding gently with a flexible spatula after each. Stop as soon as the cheese is evenly dispersed. Beating the mixture works the potato starch too hard and turns an airy paste gluey. If it softens under the spatula, cover and chill it for 15 minutes before shaping.
Keep the book's proportion exact: 1 ounce of cheese for every pound of Pommes Dauphine. The cheese should enrich the paste, not take command of it. - 2
Mould the crescents
Set a parchment-lined tray on the scale. Divide the mixture into 1½-ounce (43 g) portions, making about 11, and reserve the small remainder for testing the frying fat. With lightly floured hands, roll each portion into a tapered log about 3½ inches (9 cm) long, then bend it into a broad crescent without thinning the middle. The crescent is the signature, so make it unmistakable rather than timid.
If a crescent cracks, press the seam closed and chill the tray for 10 to 15 minutes. If the paste sticks, flour your hands lightly, not the interior of the mixture. Ça se rattrape. - 3
Dredge and heat
Heat the oven to 210°F (100°C) and set a wire rack over a sheet pan. Put the flour in a shallow dish, roll each crescent through it once, then pat and brush away the excess; moderately dredged means a thin, dry veil, not a white coat. Pour the oil into a dry, heavy pot, keeping the vessel no more than half full, and heat it to 350°F (175°C). Keep the pot handle turned inward and water well away from the stove.
Fry the reserved scrap first. It should bubble promptly, hold together, and begin rising. If it frays or splits, bring the oil fully back to temperature and chill the crescents for another 15 minutes before trying again. - 4
Fry six minutes
Lower five or six crescents into the fat one at a time with a spider or slotted spoon. Fry for six minutes, turning them gently after they float, until puffed and evenly bronzed. Hold the oil between 340°F and 355°F (170°C and 180°C); crowding cools it and gives a greasy crust. If the crescents darken too quickly, draw the pot partly off the heat while the centres finish. If they remain pale, let the oil recover before the next batch rather than extending every cooking time.
Never abandon hot frying fat. Keep a fitted lid nearby, and if the oil threatens to smoke, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Never add water. - 5
Drain and serve
Lift the first batch onto the wire rack and hold it in the low oven only while the second batch fries, no longer than six minutes. Drain the second batch beside it, then arrange all the crescents on a warm platter. The prepared Pommes Dauphine and Gruyère already carry the seasoning, so don't salt automatically. Serve at once, while the curved shells remain crisp and the centres are light. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The source asks simply for grated cheese. Gruyère is the useful home choice because it is firm, savoury, and dry enough to disappear evenly into the paste; a wet cheese releases moisture and weakens the crescents.
- •Weigh the portions. At 1½ ounces (43 g), the exterior browns in the prescribed six minutes while the centre warms and expands. Larger crescents may colour before their middles are ready.
- •A thermometer replaces the brigade's permanently tended fryer. Watch it between batches as closely as during frying, because the second batch often enters fat that hasn't fully recovered.
- •Serve Pommes de Terre Lorette beside roast poultry, veal, or a simply roasted joint with its jus. They need no garnish and no sauce poured over their crisp shells.
- •Leftovers lose some delicacy but can be reheated on a rack at 400°F (200°C) for 8 to 10 minutes. A microwave turns the crust soft.
Advance Preparation
- •The Pommes Dauphine preparation is a finished component in the source entry. Make it according to its own recipe and chill it up to one day ahead; the time stated here begins with that preparation ready.
- •Fold in the cheese and shape the crescents up to 4 hours before serving. Cover and refrigerate them, then dredge only when the frying fat is nearly ready so the flour stays dry.
- •Frying is the last-minute work and should not be moved earlier. Arrange the rest of dinner first, then give these their six minutes as the main dish rests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 120g)
Calories
335 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
55 mg
Sodium
450 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
6 g
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