Mashed Potatoes with Lemon and Onion Confit

Mashed Potatoes
with Lemon and Onion Confit

Purée de Pommes de Terre au Fondant de Citron et Oignon

This is Serge Zarokian's perfect potato pairing for fish. At first the combination seems ideal: lemon, onion, olive oil, potatoes, fish—what could be wrong with that? But the potatoes are so yummy and the sweet bits of lightly caramelized lemon peel such a revelation that this side course is usually eaten long before the main course it was intended to support.

1-1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or Idaho Russet potatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 small lemons (as thin-skinned as you can find),
washed thoroughly, diced, and pitted
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Scrub the potatoes, place in a large pot, cover by at least 1 inch with cold salted water (2 teaspoons salt per quart water), and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and cook the potatoes uncovered until tender, about 25 minutes.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over moderately high heat. Add the onion and cook just until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the lemons (leaving the peel on), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lemon peel begins to turn golden, about 7 minutes. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the wine has evaporated, about 15 minutes.

3. Drain the potatoes and while still warm (but not too hot to handle), peel, place in a large saucepan, and mash with a potato masher.

4. Heat the potatoes over medium heat and gradually whisk in the butter until fully melted. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil.

5. Add the lemons and onion to the potatoes and whisk together until fully incorporated and evenly distributed through the mashed potatoes. Correct the seasoning. Immediately before serving, drizzle the potatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the lemon juice.

Buy the Book!

from:
Made in Marseille
Food and Flavors from France's Mediterranean Seaport
by Daniel Young
HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0060199377
Hardcover; 288 pages
$32.50; $48.95 CAN
Recipe reprinted by permission.