Next up in the potato week extravaganza: Hachis Parmentier! What the heck is Hachis Parmentier? Well, it’s cottage pie with a French accent. Seriously, I looked at 10 cottage pie recipes and 10 Hachis Parmentier recipes and I can’t find a lick of difference. Cottage Pies (and it’s cousins Shepard’s Pie (with lamb) and Shepherdess’ Pie (vegetarian)) are a filling on the bottom and then covered with mashed potatoes. This particular one also has a healthy dose of cheese — Gruyer in this case (maybe the Cottage Pie Version would have cheddar instead). Either way, delicious, easy to make (and can be done in stages over a few days, if needed) and perfect comfort food for a cold January weekend.
Ingredients
For the filling
1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, 1/4 inch diced
1/2 red bell pepper, 1/4 inch dice
2 ribs celery, 1/4 inch diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/3 cup peas (fresh or frozen is fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper each
For the mashed potatoes
2 pounds russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup warm milk
1 cup gruyere shredded, optional
Directions
Combine ground beef and onion in a large skillet, and brown until no pink remains. Add carrots, celery, bell pepper and garlic to the ground beef mixture. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until slightly tender. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, paprika and herbs de Provence. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Add peas and parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Let cool to room temperature or even do it the day before and let cool completely.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in a large pot of cold salted water. Bring the potatoes to a gentle boil and cook 13-16 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the potatoes well and mash until smooth. Stir in the butter. Add warmed milk a little bit at a time until the potatoes are smooth and fluffy, you may not need all of the milk. If using, stir the cheese into the potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
If you have made and chilled the filling the day before, let come to room temperature. Place the filling in an oven safe pie plate, casserole dish or shallow cast iron pot. Top the meat mixture with the potatoes and place in the oven. If you are feeling artsy, you can use a fork to make a pattern in the mashed potatoes. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden.
