serves 4-6
Hachis Parmentier is a classic French recipe with seasoned ground beef, silky smooth potato puree. It’s very similar to Shepards Pie and is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food.
This particular recipe comes from vanillabeancuisine and I wouldn’t change a thing! I still have memories of THE BEST Shepards Pie ever from when I was a kid growing up in Washington DC at a restaurant on Connecticut Ave near Chevy Chase right down from Magruder’s. I have been searching for something to rival it, and this just may be it. If someone said, if you changed one thing, what would it be? I’d probably say… maybe I’d try adding some fresh sweet corn right off the cob. If so, I’d add the corn with the carrots, onion and garlic and probably use ~cup of corn. But truthfully, it’s pretty perfect just as it is.
The 8×8 baking dish was *just* the right size. Also, I’d measure out only 2TBL of Parmesan because the rest you sprinkle on top right before putting in the oven and you can always use more cheese IMO. Same goes for the Gruyère; don’t bother measuring, just grate on top and wing it.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion
- 2 large carrots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 LBS potatoes, Yukon Gold preferred
- 2 TBL olive oil
- 2½ TBL tomatoe paste
- ½ tsp herbes de provence
- 1½ LBS lean ground beef
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided ← just measure out 2 TBL and keep the rest handy
- 1 TBL chopped parsley
- 3½ TBL salted butter
- 4 ounces 2% milk ← I used whole
- 3 TBL grated Gruyère cheese ← don’t bother measure, just keep handy til end
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Nutmeg clove (optional) ← I don’t think this is optional; it adds amazing flavor to this dish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- Peel and chop the onion and carrots into very small pieces (about the size of cheerios). Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel potatoes and cut into large chunks (about the size of ½ lemon)
- Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add chopped onion, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened
- Add tomatoe paste, herbs de provence, ½ tsp Kosher salt, and ground beef. Cook for 8-to-10 minutes, until beef loses its pink color and is fully cooked
- Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil, then add potatoe chunks. Boil potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until fully tender
- After the beef mixture has cooled for several minutes, season with salt and pepper. Now stir in egg yolk, 2 TBL Parmesan cheese, and chopped parsley
- Pour meat mixture into an 8×8 baking dish or gratin dish
- When potatoes are done, drain them, then return to pan
- Add butter, milk, and ½ tsp salt
- Mash with fork or with an electric mixer, until they have the consistency of mashed potatoes that you enjoy. Taste and add more salt or pepper if necessary
- Spread potatoes on top of meat mixture in baking dish, then grate a little bit of the nutmeg clove over the top (if you like) ← I loved this touch!
- Sprinkle the remaining [2 TBL] of Parmesan cheese and the Gruyère cheese over the top ← if you measure it, then just sprinkle what you measured, otherwise just grate each cheese directly over the top of the potatoes as you like… think of nachos…you want a nice layer of cheese!
- Bake for 25-to-35 minutes, until Hachis Parmentier is hot and the cheese is beginning to brown on top
Notes: you can make this dish the day before if you want (I did). Get everything assembled and ready to go into the oven, but then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If you’re baking straight from the fridge, you’ll need to add 5 minutes to the cooking time. Or, take the dish out of the fridge 15-20 minutes before you are ready to bake it to allow it to come back to room temperature before putting into the oven.
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