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Potato Paste
739. Pound some boiled potatoes very fine, and add, while warm, a sufficiency of butter to make the mash hold together, or it may be mixed with an egg; then, before it gets cold, flour the board pretty well to prevent it from sticking, and roll it to the thickness wanted. If it has become quite cold before it is put on the dish, it will be apt to crack.
A potato pastry for lining or covering pies, of the sort used for meat and game pies when wheat flour was dear or a softer crust was wanted. The whole thing hinges on working it while the potato is still warm.
- Work it hotWarm potato is plastic; cold potato is crumbly and will crack as the recipe warns. Mash, enrich and roll in one continuous operation, and keep the bowl covered with a cloth while you clear the board.
- Choose a dry potatoA floury variety — russet, Maris Piper, King Edward — mashes fine and holds shape. Waxy new potatoes stay wet and will need far more flour, which makes the paste tough.
- Dry the potatoes firstDrain the boiled potatoes and return them to the dry pan over low heat for a minute or two to drive off steam before pounding. Excess water is the usual cause of a paste that will not roll.
- "A sufficiency of butter"Reckon roughly 2 to 3 oz butter to each pound of cooked potato, added a little at a time until the mash coheres and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl. The recipe gives no quantity for the egg alternative; about one egg to a pound of potato is a reasonable starting point, and gives a firmer, slightly drier paste.
- Pound, do not beatA ricer or a masher gives the fine, even texture wanted. A food processor or mixer overworks the starch and turns the potato gluey and unrollable.
- RollingFlour the board and the pin generously and roll thicker than you would shortcrust — about 1/4 inch (6 mm). Thinner than that and the paste tears when lifted; roll it out on floured parchment and invert it over the dish if it will not move.
- BakingThe original says nothing about baking. As a modern guide, used as a pie lid over a cooked or nearly cooked filling, around 400F (200C) for 25 to 30 minutes will leave the surface dry, set and browned in patches. Brushing with beaten egg or milk gives colour, as the paste has little sugar to brown on its own.
- YieldThe recipe gives no quantities. A pound of boiled potatoes with butter will make enough to cover a pie dish of roughly 8 to 9 inches, with some to spare.
- Season itThe original gives no salt. Taste the mash before rolling; unseasoned potato paste is very flat against a savoury filling.