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 complement to the rich potatoes and nutty cheese. Pearl onions can work instead, though they won’t be quite as sweet. 

Time
2 hours

Yield
Toppings for six 12” pizzas

Equipment 
medium pot
saucepan
potato masher
Ooni Pizza Dough Scraper
Ooni pizza oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
Ooni Perforated Pizza Peel
Ooni Pizza Turning Peel
Ooni Pizza Cutter Wheel 

Ingredients
6 x 250-gram dough balls 
1½ pounds (650 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
kosher salt, for boiling the potatoes
⅔ cup (140 grams) unsalted butter
½ cup (110 grams) whole milk
2 teaspoons (20 grams) sea salt, plus more to season the onions
approximately 6-7 (180 grams) cipollini onions
1 tablespoon (15 grams) grapeseed oil
6 ounces (180 grams) bacon, cooked and sliced into ½ inch pieces
6 ounces (180 grams) raclette, cut into cubes
11 ounces (300 grams) mozzarella
⅓ cup (20 grams) chives, choppedMethod
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.

Peel the potatoes, place them in salted water in a medium pot, turn on heat and bring to a boil. Cook potatoes until a knife slides through with ease, about 30 minutes. Strain potatoes and set aside. While your potatoes cool, heat the butter and milk together in a separate pan until the butter is melted, then turn off the heat and set aside. Using a masher, combine your potatoes with the butter and milk mixture until creamy. Season with salt to taste.Meanwhile, turn on your home oven or fire up your Ooni oven, aiming for 425°F (220°C). Peel and slice the onions, toss with grapeseed oil and salt, and roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.Fire up your Ooni oven, aiming for 850°F to 950°F (450°C to 500°C) on the stone baking board inside. 

Place a dough ball on a lightly floured work surface. Push the air from the center out to the edge using your fingers. Stretch the dough out to a 12-inch-round base, then keep your dough on the countertop or lay the stretched dough over your lightly floured pizza peel.Top the dough with one ounce (30 grams) each of raclette, bacon, and onion and two ounces (60 grams) of mozzarella.Using a spoon, dollop mashed potatoes onto the pizza, filling the spaces where there’s no cheese. Move your topped pizza onto a peel, if you haven’t already. Slide the pizza off the peel and into the oven. Cook for 60 to 90 seconds, turning the pizza regularly to ensure an even bake. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the chives.Slice and enjoy.