Pommes Écrasées

Your new favorite mashed potato recipe

Nothing rounds out a feast like a bowl of fluffy, creamy, mashed potatoes. Doubtless you have your favorite version, which very likely includes one or more of the Big Four: butter, milk, cream and cheese. Whether it’s a simple mash or an elite-tier version like pommes aligot or the famous purée de Robuchon, dairy products almost certainly contribute fat, texture, and flavor to the result—lubricating the starch and making the result much more pleasurable to eat.

There exists, however, a dairy-free alternative that possesses every bit of the decadent intensity you find in your creamiest mash: pommes écrasées (literally “crushed potatoes”). While it’s the perfect choice if you’re hosting any vegans or people with dairy allergies, you should make this on its own merits because it is utterly magnificent, with a complexity and depth that I dare say most dairy-heavy versions can’t touch. Every time I make this, people go wild for it.