Woman Peeling Potatoes
Gabriel Metsu
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Antoine's Pommes de Terres Soufflées

"What I say is that, if a man really likes potatoes, he must be
a pretty decent sort of fellow."
~ A. A. Milne

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Antoine's Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Old French Courtyard, New Orleans, Louisiana
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Antoine's Pommes de Terres Soufflées
(Puffed Potatoes)


Antoine's Cookbook:
Antoine's Restaurant since 1840 Cookbook
by Roy F. Guste, Jr., Reissue 1989, W. W. Norton & Co.
(our copy -  Roy F. Guste, Jr., 1979, Carbery-Guste, Legacy Publishing)

“The most famous of all our vegetable dishes is Pommes de Terres Soufflées, or Puffed Potatoes. The story of their creation and the secret of their preparation
was given to Antoine by the great chef Collinet, during Antoine’s apprenticeship
at the Hotel de Noailles in Marseilles.
The story goes that the occasion was the first run of the railroad from Paris to
St. Germain-en-Laye. Louis Philippe, then king of France, was going to ride the train on its inaugural run to St. Germain-en-Laye, where there would be a great celebration and feast.
Chef Collinet, who was preparing the feast, had a messenger waiting for the
train’s arrival. As soon as the messenger could see the train approaching, he
rushed to Collinet to inform him. The great chef threw his potatoes, which he
had cut for frying, into the oil to cook. Louis Philippe had a penchant for fried
potatoes and insisted on having them at every meal.
Unfortunately for Collinet, the king was not on the train. The king’s advisors had
at the last minute forced him to ride in a carriage alongside of the train as they
feared for his life on this unproven track.
When Collinet realized that the king was not on the train, he removed the potatoes from the oil and set them aside. What a dilemma! There were no more potatoes to cook and the king would be furious!
So, Collinet waited, and some time later Louis Philippe finally arrived, and the banquet began. Collinet’s only chance was to reheat the cooked potatoes. Back
into the grease, which had become extremely hot from sitting on the fire, they went, and to the amazement of everyone, they puffed up into small balloon shapes. The king was both thrilled and amazed and showered Collinet with compliments.
Antoine brought the recipe with him to New Orleans and Pommes de Terres Soufflées have been served here ever since.”

2 pounds large potatoes
Oil
Salt

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut lengthwise into slices 1 1/4 inches wide and one-eighth inch thick. Soak the potato slices in cold water to remove excess starch.
Have two pots filled with oil, one at a moderately hot temperature (275 degrees F) and the other at a very hot temperature (400 degrees F). Drain
the potatoes and dry them carefully. Put a single layer of potatoes into a frying basket and lower the basket into the moderately hot oil. Keep
moving the potatoes around, dipping the basket in and out of the oil until
the potatoes begin to brown and to puff. The partially cooked potatoes
may be set aside for awhile before the second stage, or may be finished immediately.
Put the partially cooked potatoes in a basket and dip the basket into the pot
of very hot oil. Again be careful to cover only the bottom of the basket with potatoes and to keep them moving around in the oil until they are golden brown, well puffed and crispy.
Remove from the oil, drain on absorbent paper and sprinkle with salt for seasoning. Serves 6.

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