FFwD: Hachis Parmentier
Friday, October 22, 2010
Ok guys, we are entering the forth week of cooking from the new book by Dorie Greenspan - “Around my French Table”. This is my third contribution, since I skipped last weeks choice, the Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup.
But, this week I could not resist, because mashed potatoes and meat, in this case chopped meat - are like a great marriage.
In France this is the equivalent of the English Shepard pie. “Hachis”, which means a dish in which the ingredients are chopped or minced, come from the same root as the English word “hatchet”. I did not use a hatchet of course, but I like the mental picture of it. The rest of the dish is named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist, nutritionist, and inventor who, in the late 18th century, was instrumental in the promotion of the potato as an edible crop.
Let’s all stand up right now and thank THAT MAN!
Because, who does NOT love potatoes? Yeah, I thought so, I have never, ever found someone that does not like potatoes. I mean French Frieds, Croquetas, Baked Potatoes, in salads, alone and even used to brew alcoholic beverages such as vodka, potcheen, or akvavit.
That potato…. has got her act together folks… she will never be out of a job.
But out of all the ways we can cook this spud… Mashed Potatoes is my favorite.
Ok, no, that is wrong.. its not my favorite, is the way that I love potatoes the best.
Ok, not love.. more like I need mash potatoes in my life to keep me sane.
True.
I’m not kidding.
I could eat the stuff at every single meal. Find ways to served it different ways. And eat some more.
I will never, ever grown tired of it.
And I love to make it too.
My family counts on me to ALWAYS be the mashed potato go-to girl.
Yes sir, I’m the mashed potato go-to girl. That sounds weird, but I.DONT.CARE.
So, when I saw this recipe I knew that nothing was going to stop me from making it.
Not even the worse day at work.
Like I had today.
Because I got home and before Tom could say “Hi” I had my apron on and was cutting into carrots, celery, onions, garlic and dumping everything into the saucepan with water.
The recipe stars with making a bouillon, which is just a fancy word for broth, made with all of the above vegetables and the cube steak. After bringing it to a boil, cleaning the foam, you simmer it for one an half hours until you get a very aromatic, rich beef stock.
Next up you chopped up the meat, and then saute it along with some sausage turning it into this robust filling. According to Dorie, the dish does not have vegetables, but I could not bring myself to throw away the carrots or celery used to make the stock, so instead I chopped them up really, really fine and added them to the filling, they are there, you can taste them, but you can barely see them.
Then comes the potatoes, which get cooked in salted water until soft and then using a potato ricer (if you don’t have one, go buy one right now, your potatoes will thank you) you mashed while incorporating cream, milk and butter, until a they reach a heavenly creamy consistency. I had to stop myself from eating a bowl right then and there.
After you got your filling and mashed potatoes you go to town building this pie. Into a buttered baking dish it goes, first the filling and then your soft mashed potatoes and if that was not enough to entice you… on top of that you grate some Gruyere (or Comte or Emmental) cheese and because cheese likes to play well together, you pair it up with some parmesan too.
And into the oven it goes to get all happy at 400 degrees for 30 minutes - until all nice an bubbling.
But, then you can take it to another whole different level and because, I love my cheese to be nice and golden, with maybe a bit of burn crust… I did an extra step of turning my broiler to “high” and letting the cheese sing.
Happy, happy, Joy! Joy!
Verdicts:
Tom: “This was totally and I mean TOTALLY worth the 2 hours it took you to put it together, I’m having seconds and thirds - so you better put your portion for your lunch tomorrow away right now.”
The little man: “it’s so good, can I have more?” for the record, he served himself 2 more times.
Can we say this little number was a total hit at our house tonight?
YES WE CAN!
Want to check out if it was a hit at the other cooks houses? Then head over to French Fridays with Dorie and take a look.
Reader Comments (18)
Wow..i have to try this for this Xmas family gathering! I always make sheperd's pie for xmas eve.and everyone loved it..i have to try this new dish! ps: i bought the book already..hehehehe..:P
Faithy.. its delicious... I had to HIDE my piece from Tom in order to have some to take to work tomorrow for my lunch. And while it seem like it was going to take a lot of time, it actually was pretty fast to make - lots of steps, but, after all the steps we do baking, this is a breeze!
Monica, gorgeous pictures. That 1st one looks so yummy. I am salivating, and I just had dinner. You are one step ahead of me girl, I am skipping this one. I am glad it's a hit with the boys :).
What great pictures and what a wonderful post as well. Glad to see it was such a success at your house
Your mash looks brilliant ... the 'crust' on top is the best bit for sure ... I remember always saving that bit for last when eating it as a child..
www.goodbitein.com
Best. Pictures. Ever. Makes me hungry just looking at it!
www.popsiclesandsandyfeet.blogspot.com
I'm with you on the whole potatoes thing - I've got two russets just hanging out in the kitchen and I'm tempted to make mashed potatoes for lunch today. Just because of reading all the hachis parmentier posts this morning! Yours is poetry in a picture!
I'm so impressed/jealous! Your hachis permentier is gorgeous!!
you do have beautiful pictures! I'm glad your family enjoyed this so much...I did, too!
Wow, you put the whole dish together in one evening after work! I'm impressed! And I so want to cut into your pie!
Looks like you got a great crust going there! What a family hit!
I loved your post! I really like the background on the name as I was unaware of where it came from. The pictures and description really did the dish justice.
Glad this was such a hit! It was a hit at our house as well. My daughter took some in her school lunch the next day as well. :) ourcrazyblessedlife.blogspot.com
thanks for explaining the origin of the name! i had no idea what it meant...
I love the close up picture of your potato topping. It looks so fluffy and delicious! I wish I had some leftovers right now!
love all the info on the name! i was wondering 1. how to pronoune it and 2. what the heck it means. so thanks for clearing up #2!
i made it too (haven't blogged it yet) and it was DELICIOUS. and, i thought the same thing--after all the steps and bowls i dirty in the name of cake this wasn't so bad at all! and to think, a year ago i wouldn't have made this because of all the steps and pots and pans used. we've come a long way!
What a FANTASTIC picture showing off all the wonderful textures of this dish! YUM! The potatoes look amazing and held up better than mine. I decided this dish is a metaphor for French Living....
Trevor Sis. Boom.
Absolutely delicious!!