Robuchon-style Mashed Potato Pizza

When making a mashed potato pizza for the holidays, we looked to the potato master, departed Michelin-starred French chef Joël Robuchon. In creating the potatoes The New York Times claims are “widely considered the ultimate,” Robuchon took a simple dish and elevated it through technique. Here, our potatoes serve as an ode to his great pommes puree that’s a little more home cook-friendly. The potatoes, complete with lots and lots of butter (seriously, it’s a 2:1 potato-to-butter ratio), are combined with bacon, cippolini onions, chives, and raclette for a pizza that’s decadent, indulgent and great for the holidays. 

Robuchon’s recipe calls for ratte potatoes, the small, French variety known for its firm texture and nutty flavor. They’re boiled, milled and dried over a low flame, then mixed with butter, whole milk and salt. We aimed for a similar taste experience, but simplified the technique, using a potato masher instead of a food mill and opting for Yukon gold potatoes. If ratte potatoes are easily available, by all means, use them! If not, any thin-skinned yellow potato will do. 

To make this pizza extra special, we used raclette, a French cheese known for its ability to melt generously and easily. In a pinch, Gruyère or Swiss will also work. Along with the potatoes and cheese, roasted cipollini onions round this out into a holiday delight. These small, white Italian onions are sweet and bite-sized, making them a great compliment to the rich potatoes and nutty cheese. Pearl onions can work instead, though they won’t be quite as sweet. 

Robuchon-style Mashed Potato Pizza

Note

This recipe would suit a variety of pizza styles, but we think our Classic Pizza Dough would be a great fit. Make sure to prepare your dough ahead of time to ensure it rises at room temperature before firing up your oven.

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