Garlic Parmesan Duchess Potatoes

I never thought I’d see the day where I uploaded a recipe where you need a piping bag, but here we are. And for a delicious cause! Follow me…

Duchess Potatoes

This is the kind of recipe that looks really fancy, but in reality it’s really easy to make, especially the more times you make it.

What are Duchess Potatoes?

A duchess potato is essentially mashed potato that is passed through a piping bag to create small mounds, and then baked until crisp. It’s a French dish and serves as a side dish for many recipes. Today we’re going to do a delicious twist and make garlic and parmesan loaded duchess potatoes.

Roasted Garlic

Garlic mashed potato is great, but roasted garlic mashed potato is even better. When you roast garlic it turns gorgeously sweet and sticky. It completely transforms the flavour of the garlic into a much more subtle, nutty flavour. The texture of the garlic also transforms too. Roasting the garlic low and slow turns the garlic buttery soft. It can then be squeezed out of the skins and blended into the mashed potato with ease. This is good because we want the mashed potato as smooth as possible so it’s easily piped. Process shots: slice tip of garlic bulb (photos 1&2), drizzle with oil (photo 3), wrap in foil (photo 4), roast (photo 5), squeeze out garlic (photo 6).

Garlic Parmesan Duchess Potatoes

Making duchess potatoes takes a little time, but it’s a really straightforward process. There’s just a few pitfalls to avoid to ensure they come out perfect every time.

Boiling the potatoes

Firstly, make sure the water is heavily salted, just to give the potatoes a good base seasoning (nobody likes bland potatoes!). Secondly, make sure you don’t over-boil them. Just boil them until fork-tender. If you over-boil them they’ll soak in too much water and result in a sloppy mash, which in turn makes it difficult for the duchess potatoes to keep shape in the oven. Lastly, you’ll want to let them sit in the colander and steam dry before mashing, just to allow some of the excess moisture to escape.

Mashing the potatoes

Ensure you mash the potatoes until fairly smooth. Don’t go overboard or the potatoes can turn gluey. Alongside butter, cream, garlic and parmesan, you’ll want to stir through some egg yolks. These are key as they help the potatoes keep shape in the oven.

Piping the potatoes

Realistically you can pipe them into any shape, but classically they should look like swirly domes (yes, technical term 🤣). A large/jumbo star tip will help you achieve this. Just don’t make them too big otherwise they’ll collapse in the oven. Smaller duchess potatoes will keep shape more easily. Process shots: boil and drain potatoes (photo 1), mash in cream and butter (photo 2), stir in parmesan, garlic and seasoning then egg yolks (photo 3), fit a piping bag over pint glass (photo 4), spoon in mash (photo 5), pipe duchess potatoes (photo 6).

How garlicky are these?

They’re pretty garlicky, but because the garlic is roasted it’s not too pungent. I use a large bulb of garlic, but if you’re at all tentative just use a small one.

How do I prevent them from collapsing?

All of the tips above will help you. The perfect boiling/steaming of the potatoes helps, as do the egg yolks and the size of the duchess potatoes. If they do spread out in the oven don’t panic as they’ll still taste delish!

Can I make them ahead of time?

If you want to make them ahead of time just allow them to cool and then store them in the freezer. From there, you can bake from frozen at 180C/350F for about 12-15mins, or until crisp on the outside and piping hot right through the centre.

Serving Duchess Potatoes

These make an awesome Side Dish for so many Dinners. They’re even great as part of a Roast Dinner with some Gravy. And if you’re concerned of the mix of cheese and gravy, just remember that cheesy chips and gravy is a British delicacy 😛 For more garlic parmesan recipes check out my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Skewers and Garlic Parmesan Sausage Orzo! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these roasted garlic parmesan duchess potatoes shall we?!