French Fridays with Dorie…Hachis Parmentier
It’s names like this that scare people off.
Hachis Parmentier.
What the what??
Let me clue you in…it’s Shepherd’s Pie. And in case you are from a small town in Southwest Virginia whose mama didn’t make Shepherd’s Pie and you may as well be eating Hachis Parmentier, it’s like beefy mashed potato casserole. That help?
Hachis Parmentier is the recipe for this weeks French Fridays with Dorie, the cooking group gathered around the latest cookbook by Dorie Greenspan – Around My French Table. Pronounced Ah-shee Par-men-Tee-Ay, this fancifully named casserole is stick to your ribs meat and potatoes, all in one pot. The beef is combined with spicy sausage, and baked beneath a hearty helping of mashed potatoes, then graciously topped with cheese. What’s not to like about that combination?
On Wednesday, my husband Jon was rained out of work, and since I was scheduled to work the the family shop, I left him in charge of The Boy and of making the Hachis Parmentier. I encouraged him to make the quick version, using ground beef and purchased beef stock. He never called to ask me a single question. In fact, he made his own judgments and decided to add more tomato paste to the recipe than it called for. Everything else? He did by the book…so unlike me. Moi. I can’t seem to leave a single recipe alone. His only complaint about the recipe was the absence of salt and pepper measurements. he thought that given the substantial amounts of meat and potatoes, a guideline should have been established. But, whatever amount he ended up using tasted great to me.
When it came time to eat it, I added some cooked frozen peas, as I thought it needed some other texture to go along with the chewiness of the dish. Cooked carrots would have been a great addition as well. Plus, adding the vegetables seems to round out the casserole into a full meal, without the need for a side salad or other vegetable.
I am excited to see what the rest of the group did with their recipe, and I think you will enjoy checking them all out, too. You can head on over to the French Fridays with Dorie page to find all of the links to the posts. And if you haven’t already, you should pick up a copy of Around My French Table for yourself. You won’t be sorry!
Until Monday, folks, have a great weekend…and don’t forget to VOTE for me in the Avocado Contest over on my sidebar! If you are interested in winning a Flip Video camera (it’s all the rage!) just scroll back to yesterday’s post and enter to win. Good Luck!
