The culinary experts at Lurpak have teamed up with a leading historian and futurologists to map the evolution of the most hotly anticipated meal of the year.

The Lurpak’Christmas Past, Present and Future’ report explores the evolution of the Christmas dinner across more than 140 years, from 1901 when Lurpak first arrived in the UK, through to 2042.

The nutmeg in these potato boulettes offer a real Christmassy flavour. In 1901 they would have been a popular festive accompaniment to food and drinks.  

Potato Boulette

Serves approximately 16 small boulettes.

Ingredients:

500g potatoes (King Edward or other mashing variety)

750g Lurpak® Unsalted butter

2 large eggs, separated

Nutmeg for grating

Method:

Prepare the potatoes for mashing: peel, cut into chunks and boil in salted water until tender.

Separate the egg yolks and whites into bowls. Beat the yolks, and whisk the whites until very frothy. 

Clarify the butter so that it can be used for frying without burning. To do this, cut 700g of the butter into chunks and put into a medium saucepan to slowly melt over a low heat. Let it simmer gently as the foam rises to the top. Take off the heat, skim off the foam and strain the butter into another medium saucepan through a sieve lined with muslin, leaving any white solids behind in the pan. You should now have golden melted butter.

Drain the potatoes, put back in the pan and return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out. Mash the potatoes with the remaining 50g of butter, egg yolks as well as the grated nutmeg and salt to taste. Mix in the whisked egg whites.

Heat the pan of melted butter until it reaches 180°C on a cooking thermometer.  While it is heating, form the mashed potato into quenelle shapes. To do this, take two teaspoons, fill one with mash and shape it into an oval.  Scrape off the mash using the other teaspoon. Repeat until the mash is an attractive, oval shape. 

Once the butter is hot enough, the quenelles can be gently dropped in to fry / poach. After 2 minutes, turn each one over and fry for another 2 minutes until lightly golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.  Serve as quickly as possible, keeping them warm in a low oven if needed before serving. Finish with a grinding of pepper.

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